How QB Christopher Vizzina has looked in Clemson spring football practice

CLEMSON — Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney said Christopher Vizzina was in the “pole position” to be the team’s starting quarterback in 2026, and it showed during the Tigers’ fifth day of spring practice

The first five sessions were open to media on March 4, and Vizzina threw the ball with velocity and toward the back pylon to wide receivers during a red-zone passing drill. Offensive coordinator Chad Morris wanted all his quarterbacks to do this, but others struggled to do both.

Vizzina also made deep passes to wideouts in another drill, showcasing his deep throwing power and accuracy. He wasn’t perfect though, overthrowing receivers at times and wideouts dropping passes.

Still, Swinney’s stance on Clemson’s quarterback competition has not changed after five practices.

“They’ve all been impressive. They’ve all made mistakes,” Swinney said. “There’s not anything that’s happened in five days that makes me think anything different than I said in the very beginning. Really talented room, very competitive.”

Swinney and his staff must figure out who will be the team’s starter before Clemson faces LSU on Sept. 5 at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to start the season.

Vizzina, the most experienced player, is competing to be Clemson’s starter against Chris Denson, Trent Pearman and signees Brock Bradley and Tait Reynolds.

Vizzina has played in 14 games and made one start, which came in 2025 against SMU with Cade Klubnik out. Vizzina has completed 61% of his passes for 596 yards with four touchdowns and one interception and has rushed for 109 yards on 38 attempts.

Against SMU, he completed 69% of his passes for 317 yards and three touchdowns in a 35-24 loss.

All the other quarterbacks have combined for eight appearances and no starts.

MORE: How Dabo Swinney paid respect to Lou Holtz after death of former South Carolina coach

What Dabo Swinney said about hiring Rich Bisaccia, who is 65

Clemson hired Rich Bisaccia, 65, as the team’s special teams coordinator on March 4.

Bisaccia’s hire continued the trend of Swinney hiring older coordinators who have decades of experience, including Morris, 57, and defensive coordinator Tom Allen, 55.

It is a change from coaches who have previously served in these roles who had less experience, including former special teams coordinator Will Gilchrist (age 32 when hired), offensive coordinator Garrett Riley (33) and defensive coordinator Wes Goodwin (37).

Swinney said he doesn’t feel like he’s made an intentional effort to hire older coaches.

“It’s more just comfort zone and just trying to hire the best who I felt like was the best for the job,” Swinney said. “I don’t care how old they are. It don’t matter to me. I don’t care. I just want to hire who’s the best fit and the best person.”

Why Dabo Swinney is confident in offensive line despite missing on portal targets

Clemson pursued multiple offensive linemen in the portal but landed none. This came after the Tigers lost starting tackles Blake Miller and Tristan Leigh, center Ryan Linthicum and right guard Walker Parks as all exhausted their eligibility.

Swinney said Clemson looked at portal linemen who had one year of eligibility remaining but did not target any with more because of the team’s belief in its six signees in 2026 and four in 2025.

He is optimistic some will stand out to be contributors in 2026.

“We hit on them. (Offensive line coach) Matt (Luke) would tell you the same thing,” Swinney said. “… All those guys got a ways to go to be great football players at this level, but they’re on their way, they got the attributes and they’re doing the work.”

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 updates Clemson football quarterback competition

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