Dabo Swinney passed on a portal QB. Here's who Clemson coach is counting on in 2026
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CLEMSON — Clemson football‘s starting quarterback in 2026 is on the Tigers’ roster.
Dabo Swinney said it was his decision to not take a quarterback in the transfer portal, and he and new offensive coordinator Chad Morris both were “aligned” in that choice.
“If you take a quarterback then you’re losing two, and I don’t want to lose the guys we got,” Swinney said Jan. 23. “I think this is as talented a room as we’ve had in a long time.”
The decision came after the Tigers went 7-6, their second-worst season under Swinney, in 2025 and Clemson lost senior starter Cade Klubnik to expiring eligibility. Behind him is a wealth of inexperience, but Swinney is confident in his quarterback room.
Clemson’s 2026 quarterbacks are Christopher Vizzina, who has one start in three years, along with Chris Denson and former walk-on Trent Pearman, who have never started in their tenure with the Tigers. Clemson also has two freshman signees in Brock Bradley and Tait Reynolds.
“I’ve been around quarterbacks my whole life. That’s what I’ve specialized in,” Morris said. “I’ve got a son that’s a quarterback. I know what it’s supposed to look like. It’s my job to develop these guys and put them on a path to develop them as we’ve watched previous quarterbacks that we’ve played in this system.”
Why didn’t Dabo Swinney, Clemson get a transfer portal quarterback?
Despite Clemson’s quarterbacks having limited experience and the offense’s regression in 2025, the Tigers were not linked to any quarterbacks in the portal window. Swinney said if Clemson entered the portal quarterback “sweepstakes,” it would have hurt the team financially.
Pursuing a top quarterback, including Sam Leavitt (Arizona State to LSU), Brendan Sorsby (Cincinnati to Texas Tech), Drew Mestemaker (North Texas to Oklahoma State) or Josh Hoover (TCU to Indiana), would have cost Clemson a large chunk of its revenue-sharing and name, image and likeness (NIL) dollars.
This would have impacted Clemson’s haul of eight players the Tigers added to revamp their defense that struggled in 2025 and needed impact players after losing eight starters to the portal, NFL and expiring eligibility.
Swinney also wanted to reward his quarterbacks’ loyalty to Clemson. Vizzina, who was one of two quarterbacks that Clemson offered in the 2023 recruiting class with the other being Arch Manning, waited behind Klubnik for three seasons. The Tigers also did not offer a quarterback in 2024 because of the team’s belief in Vizzina.
Swinney said Vizzina could have transferred, too, in 2024 and 2025 but opted to stay at Clemson. The Tigers coach doesn’t think he is Peyton Manning but believes he’s developed and performed well in his limited opportunities.
“CV has done everything that’s been asked of him, and he’s earned the opportunity,” Swinney said. “He’s earned the opportunity to have the pole position now. He’s got to win the race, but he’s got the opportunity to come out with pole position.”
Swinney is committed to his current quarterbacks despite his most recent starters having inconsistent careers, including DJ Uiagalelei and Klubnik. Five of the six teams that made the previous three national championships had transfer quarterbacks.
Who will be Clemson’s starting quarterback in 2026?
Vizzina, 6-foot-4 and 210 pounds, will enter spring practice as the team’s starter, but Swinney expects there to be a quarterback competition throughout the offseason.
He had sporadic performances in five games and one start in 2025. He played in blowouts in his first three games, completing 50% of his passes for 37 yards and one interception and rushing for 21 yards on seven carries vs. Troy, North Carolina and Boston College.
With Klubnik out with an injury against SMU, Vizzina blossomed in his first career start, completing 69% of his passes for 317 yards and three touchdowns after a shaky first half. Then, the offense sputtered with him against Furman, an FCS school, as he was 9-for-15 passing for 52 yards and one touchdown.
Denson, 6-2 and 195 pounds, appeared in two games in his freshman season and had his best game against Furman. He went 4-of-4 passing for 22 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 108 yards and a score. Swinney said he has “tremendously improved.”
Pearman has appeared in six games, completing 40% of his throws for 43 yards and an interception.
Bradley, a three-star recruit from Spain Park High School in Birmingham, Alabama, was the program’s all-time winningest quarterback and completed 68.2% of his throws for 2,930 yards and 32 touchdowns as a senior.
Reynolds, a three-star recruit who Swinney called a “unicorn,” suffered a knee injury this season that limited him to two games but is expected to be full-go for Clemson’s spring practice. He attended Queen Creek High School in Queen Creek, Arizona.
Derrian Carter covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at DCarter@usatodayco.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DerrianCarter00
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Dabo Swinney explains why Clemson didn’t pursue transfer portal QB
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