Clemson coach Dabo Swinney believes quarterback Tait Reynolds has the “it” factor that can help ignite an offense that currently ranks 117th in the Football Bowl Subdivision in yards per play.
He must have something.
Swinney named Reynolds the team’s starting quarterback earlier this week ahead of Saturday’s home game against North Carolina (2-0) at Memorial Stadium, the Atlantic Coast Conference opener for both the Tigers (1-1) and the Tar Heels. It marks the earliest in the season a freshman quarterback has started for Clemson since Steve Fuller and Willie Jordan more than 50 years ago.
“It’s easy to see his talent. He’s got a lot of moxie,” Swinney said. “He’s way beyond his years from a physical standpoint, obviously. He’s just a really gifted thrower, but he’s a very confident kid.”
Christopher Vizzina started the first two games at quarterback for Clemson after winning the job in the preseason.
However, Vizzina left last Saturday’s game against Georgia Southern in the first quarter after an interception and did not return. Swinney said told the ACC Network at halftime he had planned to put Vizzina back in the game, but that the redshirt junior couldn’t feel his elbow after an injury.
Enter Reynolds.
He fumbled at the Georgia Southern 10-yard line on his first possession, but the more he played, the more Swinney liked.
Reynolds led five field goal drives and Clemson won 22-7, although the offense looked far from fluid.
Reynolds, who also saw spot duty in Clemson’s 51-10 blowout loss to traditional Southeastern Conference power LSU in the season opener, is 20-of-33 passing for 200 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions. He has run for 29 yards on 19 carries.
Vizzina, the Frank Sinatra-loving quarterback who had been biding his time behind Cade Klubnik for the better part of three seasons, is back on the bench. Although he has been healthy enough to practice this week, Swinney said the switch was based on production.
Vizzina had earned the right to start after summer practice, but Swinney made it clear his ability to keep the job would be based on his production — and that he wasn’t ready to give Vizzina a “lifetime contract.”
“It’s a tough situation, because you love these kids, you know? And I hadn’t lost any faith in CV. Not at all,” Swinney said. “I think we’ve got a good situation. I think we can win with either one of them.”
Reynolds also excelled as a baseball player at Queen Creek (Arizona) High School.
Reynolds originally committed to Arizona State to play baseball before reopening his recruiting process to explore his football options. He was selected for the Elite 11 finals in Los Angeles, where he competed against the top prep quarterbacks in the country and performed well, grabbing national attention.
Swinney said from a physical standpoint, Reynolds reminds him of former Florida quarterback Tim Tebow.
“The fact that he’s been a two-sport star, this is the guy that’s going to walk to the plate in a tie ballgame, two outs and 3-2 (count), and he’s going to hit the game winner in a championship,” Swinney said. “That’s just who he is.”
North Carolina coach Bill Belichick said his staff spent time last year in the recruiting process studying Reynolds.
“Really athletic kid, very, very productive in some of the high school tape we saw,” Belichick said. “I’m sure he’s going to be a really good quarterback in the ACC and in college football. He’s very athletic, hard guy to tackle, has a good arm, can make all the throws.”
The Tar Heels are facing a Clemson team that has had a bumpy and unusual start to the season, the first with Chad Morris back as offensive coordinator.
First came the opening-night cauldron of playing at LSU in Lane Kiffin’s debut there in a nationally televised game and being knocked out by halftime. Then came another weather-delayed game against Georgia Southern.
“The information is what it is,” Belichick said. “We can’t do anything about it. We have what we have and we’ll do the best we can to try to figure out what we think they’ll do against us and how we need to play against them.”
Reynolds called the opportunity “exciting” but added that it isn’t about him.
“We’re just trying to win games, and it’s about the team, and we’re just trying to do what we can and try to be 1-0 every single week,” Reynolds said.
Added Swinney: “He’s going to make some mistakes, and we’re going to grow with him. But I think we have a special kid.”
The Tar Heels opened the season by beating mistake-prone TCU in Ireland behind a strong defensive showing, then overwhelmed East Tennessee State from the Football Championship Subdivision last weekend. The Tar Heels are one of eight FBS teams this year to allow 13 or fewer points through two games while also tallying seven sacks.
Now, for the second straight year, Belichick’s team plays its first ACC game of the season against the Tigers.
Last year, Clemson scored on a 75-yard touchdown pass on a trick play to start the game and scored 28 first-quarter points in a 38-10 win that put the initial problems in Belichick’s NFL-to-college transition on full display.