ESPN Analyst Greg McElroy Gives Take on Clemson Quarterback Battle

With only a week to go until Clemson football kicks off its season with No. 11 LSU, one glaring question remains: Who is head coach Dabo Swinney going to roll out with at quarterback?

It’s been leaning towards redshirt junior Christopher Vizzina to go out first in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Sept. 5, but when talking about it during ESPN’s College Football Countdown, there are questions on if Vizzina will go the entire season without a change.

Of course, Vizzina is going through the position battle with true freshman Tait Reynolds, but analyst Greg McElroy believes that the first-year quarterback will get his time to shine at some point during the season. For the former Alabama quarterback, it’s only a matter of when.

“They haven’t named a starter yet, even if it is Vizzina,” McElroy said. “It will be like a Lawrence or Watson situation with Tait Reynolds; it’s just a matter of time he sees the field.”

It’s rare to put any quarterback with the likes of Trevor Lawrence or Deshaun Watson, especially considering the accolades that the two Clemson quarterbacks were able to achieve while in the Upstate in the mid-2010s. The Tigers haven’t had a program-changing signal caller since those two, with DJ Uiagalelei, Cade Klubnik and now, most likely, Vizzina being in the mix.

With how people have talked about Reynolds throughout spring and fall camp, however, many believe that he could be next to be among the Clemson starters under Swinney.

“I mean, everybody’s got to prove it,” Swinney said back in March. “Everybody’s got to show up. Everybody’s got to earn it. CV didn’t do anything to back up, he ain’t done anything to back up, but Tait’s done everything to move forward.”

Of course, there’s also the chance that if Clemson’s offense sputters in the first half of next week’s contest, Reynolds could see some series throughout the primetime game. Swinney isn’t giving anybody a permanent spot as a starter, meaning the Tigers will need to continue to produce to see snaps.

It’s unusual for Clemson to go with a first-year starting quarterback for its opening game, let alone in one of the most hostile environments in the country as well. However, if Reynolds is the game-changer that a few see him as, perhaps, including McElroy, it makes the Tigers’ dynamic interesting going into the 2026 season.

Of course, the ball needs to be spotted first for all of this speculation to happen, but the outside media sees how close Reynolds could be ot the starting job.

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