Why Tait Reynolds Anticipates Clemson's Offense To Explode in Charleston Southern Matchup

The Tigers' freshman quarterback has strong belief the unit will get it going as the season goes on, beginning with Charleston Southern this weekend.

Sep 19, 2026; Clemson, South Carolina, USA; Clemson Tigers quarterback Tait Reynolds (2) warms up prior to the game against University of North Carolina Tar Heels at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ashley Tumlin-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Growing pains have filled the Clemson offense to begin the 2026 season. With a true freshman at quarterback in Tait Reynolds, he knows that. 

Fortunately, Reynolds had the weekend off during the Tigers’ bye week last weekend, but that didn’t stop him from watching other teams play during the open date. Speaking to the media on Tuesday, he picked up on a few things while analyzing the games.

With each day, though, the freshman quarterback was spending all of his time in the facility after the loss to Miami two weeks back.  

“I’m up here 24/7. I think a lot of the guys on the team can say that, and I have a lot to learn,” Reynolds said. “So, I’m constantly trying to learn, pick things out, trying to get better and just trying to be my best self all the time.”

Being the best version of himself is something that head coach Dabo Swinney and offensive coordinator Chad Morris stress throughout each day, and Reynolds has seen the growth in both his demeanor and game with each game he’s played. For a player who missed his senior season with a lower-body injury, jumping immediately into a Power Four starter role just three games in. 

But when you’re immediately thrown into the deep end, you pick up on some things and eventually start swimming. That’s what Reynolds has seen over the course of the last several weeks.

“I think every week, I’m just getting better and better,” he said. “I think I see more things every week and I’m like, ‘Oh man, like I’ve never even thought about that before.’”

Clemson hosts Charleston Southern this weekend at home, looking to pick up its first win coming off a bye since the 2021 season. Being a several-touchdown favorite in the game supports the idea that the Tigers will break that streak, but more of the impatience with getting Morris’s offense going will be the storyline of the game instead. 

The last time the Tigers played the Buccaneers, they hung 66 points on the FCS team. While those numbers might be lofty to this team’s standards, Reynolds sees a possibility that can end up happening. 

Why? He believes the offense will eventually click, and it’s only up from there. 

“We need to finish and things like that, and we’re just getting better and better, though,” he said. “We’re right there, and we’re going to get there and it’ll be good.”

For a team that allowed 39 points last week to SC State and 31 points to Georgia Southern, a common opponent between both schools, Clemson will look to score the most points that it has yet this season, and maybe that’s the key to getting the Tigers going offensively in 2026. 

Kickoff is set for noon with the game to be broadcast on the ACC Network.

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