Dabo Swinney Outlines Clemson's Quarterback Plan For Week 2

Despite Clemson’s loss in Week 1 to LSU, there was one observation that fans were able to examine: the Tigers played both of their two starting-caliber quarterbacks.

While redshirt junior Christopher Vizzina started the game, true freshman Tait Reynolds relieved him just before halftime. Despite who was behind center last Saturday night, Clemson struggled to move the ball, which was a testament to the major disadvantage on the line of scrimmage.

In the week after the aftermath, head coach Dabo Swinney said that he needs to see more from both players before naming an official starter.

“We didn’t do anything to set us up for success,” he said on Tuesday. “We played poor; and it didn’t complement each other, and again it just snowballed, and it got out of hand.”

So, going into Clemson’s home opener against Georgia Southern, he said that the same situation would probably be executed in Memorial Stadium. Swinney said that both quarterbacks would end up playing on Saturday evening, looking to see flashes from both in a contest against an inferior opponent.

“I’m not going into specifics of how we’re going to manage the quarterbacks other than they’re both going to play,” he said, “and again, that’s just where we are, where we came out of the competition.”

Both didn’t have a standout day last Saturday, which began with Vizzina to open the game. He finished with 83 yards and a pick-six interception in the first quarter. Later on, Swinney would end up saying that it was “the right read”, but it was read well by LSU defensive coordinator Blake Baker. However, the upperclassman did lead the only scoring drive, which ended with a David Eziomume touchdown from 11 yards.

On the other hand, Reynolds was 4-of-6 for 22 yards, being sacked three times. Again, Clemson didn’t have enough of a sample size, nor chances for Reynolds to show off his athleticism that Swinney’s been enamored with since coming to campus.

Overall, the game left him with “no clarity.”

“We just need to go play games, and we had to go to LSU on an opener; that was that,” he said. “We got to go play some games, and all of a sudden, you’ve got 13 snaps, and it’s 24-3, and so it didn’t really go our script.”

So, Clemson will go into a favorable environment on Saturday night, returning home with hopes to pick up its first win of the season. Georgia Southern is coming into the contest with some confidence, but Swinney should see his quarterbacks have more success with moving the ball than that of the loss in Baton Rouge.

From there, he hopes an answer will get clearer.

“We've got to play better, and we've got to get them more opportunity to go and play some meaningful snaps,” he said. “Not enough to name a clear QB1, no.”

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