Why Christopher Vizzina Wouldn't Change His Journey to Clemson Starting QB Job

In January 2023, Clemson quarterback Christopher Vizzina was a mid-year enrollee practicing with the team, learning behind new starter Cade Klubnik.

Fast forward over three-and-a-half years, and he hit one of his goals: to be the starting quarterback in Week 1 for the Tigers.

While the state of college football doesn’t favor the players who decide to stay and develop, instead of looking for other pursuits in different programs, Vizzina is considered a rare case in the game today. However, he wouldn’t trade how he got to the position he’s in today.

“Just my love for Clemson is what stands out when I think about the journey, and there’s been some tough days, to be honest,” Vizzina said on Monday. “Some days, you just want to play football, but I wouldn’t change anything about it now, standing up here and accomplishing that.”

There were plenty of obstacles that the Birmingham, Alabama, native had to go through to get where he is now. Last offseason, despite NFL buzz, Klubnik decided to stay another year, although that ended up being beneficial for Vizzina learning behind a new NFL quarterback this season.

This offseason, he had to fend off the rest of the quarterbacks in the room. One especially, freshman Tait Reynolds, gave him a run that lasted until game week began. Again, though, he remains thankful for the labyrinth he had to go through to get to the end: Clemson’s starting quarterback.

“It’s obviously not gone how I planned it to go, and rarely do things happen the way we think they’re going to go,” Vizzina said. “It’s all in the Lord’s plan, and I’ve been trusting that.”

The starter gives a lot of praise to Reynolds, who made him a better quarterback throughout the spring and fall camp.

“I feel like I’ve needed it to become a better player,” Vizzina added. “The room has needed it, the team has needed it, there’s competition at every single position on the team, and it’s been a great fall camp.”

However, just because he’s named the starter doesn’t mean it’s his for the remainder of the season, let alone next week.

Swinney said not to be surprised if Reynolds makes a case to play a series or two this weekend, and if he’s more exciting than Vizzina is, it could end his tenure early as Clemson’s starter. The complacency has the redshirt junior understanding what he needs to do if he wants to cement himself in the job.

He has to put Clemson in a winning football scenario on Saturday.

“I got to go win the game, or we, as a team, have to go win the game,” he said. “It’s based on performance. . .it’s not a lifetime contract. So, if I want to keep standing up here in front of you guys, I've got to perform.”

However, if you told the 2023 Vizzina that this would be his first chance to be the official starter to open the 2026 season, let alone against a top 15 opponent in LSU, he would be blown away. But he is prepared to make a statement in Week 1 for the Tigers.

“I don’t think you could write it up any better,” he said. “What an opportunity for us as a team. I’m very excited.”

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