UNC to face freshman QB against Clemson with Christopher Vizzina week-to-week
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Clemson starting quarterback Christopher Vizzina (elbow) is week-to-week and is not expected to be available to start the game against North Carolina on Saturday. Freshman quarterback Tait Reynolds will start in his place.
Vizzina has started both games for Clemson so far this season but struggled mightily against LSU in Week 1 before being replaced by Reynolds late in the second quarter. In Week 2, Vizzina was only able to muster a 3-and-out in Clemson’s first possession, but lucked into a muffed punt that gave the offense the ball right back on Georgia Southern’s 27-yard line. Vizzina led the offense into the end zone, but the 10-yard touchdown pass to T.J. Moore would prove Vizzina’s last positive contribution of the day, as he was injured while throwing an interception on the first play of Clemson’s next drive.
Due to Vizzina’s struggles in Week 1 and injury in Week 2, Reynolds has played more minutes and attempted more passes than Vizzina, despite coming off the bench both weeks. Reynolds has looked a bit of a mixed bag during his minutes so far, showing flashes of improvisation and greatness while also showing a frustrating inability to consistently build drives that move the ball down the field and end in points.
The good news for Clemson fans? He’s yet to throw an interception. Vizzina, in contrast, has thrown 2 INTs in about a third of the playing time.
The bad news for Clemson fans? He’s yet to throw a touchdown. Reynolds led the Tigers through 12 drives on Saturday against Georgia Southern. The result was 6 punts, 5 field goals, and 1 fumble (by Reynolds). Only three of the drives were 7 plays or longer.
North Carolina should not expect to force Reynolds into turning the ball over this weekend, but if they consistently win the field possession battle, it is hard to imagine Reynolds consistently driving the Tigers 75+ yards down the field and punching it into the end zone.
High Stakes for Tait Reynolds
This will be the first career start for the true freshman from Queen Creek, Arizona, and it is hard to imagine a hotter microscope for him and his head coach to be trapped under. Getting blown out by LSU in Week 1 was a self-described “worst-case scenario” for Head Coach Dabo Swinney and the Tigers, and Week 2’s performance against Georgia Southern wasn’t exactly a get-right game.
Losing at home to the 2026 North Carolina Tar Heels, who admittedly have an embarrassing national reputation, will be an indicator for Swinney that he ought to start shopping for a Halloween costume. If the young Tait Reynolds fails to lead the Tigers offense to victory over North Carolina, Swinney should plan to spend All Hallow’s Eve trick-or-treating and watching scary movies at home instead of coaching another Saturday night football game in Death Valley.
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