‘He’s Very Stubborn’ — College Football Insider Questions Dabo Swinney’s High-Stakes Clemson Gamble
· Yahoo Sports
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney finds himself among the coaches facing intense national pressure heading into next season after a disappointing finish in 2025. Immediately after the Tigers’ Pinstripe Bowl loss to the Penn State Nittany Lions, Swinney revamped his staff by firing offensive coordinator Garrett Riley and hiring Chad Morris.
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Swinney has been very active in the transfer portal as well during the offseason, but after losing Cade Klubnik to the 2026 NFL Draft, his quarterback room is at its weakest and having not improved is a big gamble, with the season ultimately depending on how the offense holds up.
College Football Insider Questions Dabo Swinney for Not Acquiring a QB in Transfer Portal
Swinney has found himself in the crosshairs of fans and analysts alike for his reluctance to embrace the transfer portal. However, during the winter transfer window, the Clemson coach bucked that trend by signing roughly 10 transfers, mostly on defense to help rejuvenate his roster.
Most of those additions, though, came on the defensive side of the ball, while the offense appears to be trending in the opposite direction after averaging just 27.2 points per game last season, a significant drop from the 34.7 points it averaged the year before.
Swinney lost quarterback Cade Klubnik and OL Blake Miller to the NFL Draft. He now enters the season with four linemen who either lack experience or are returning from season-ending injuries, and despite that uncertainty, he chose not to add a quarterback through the portal, even though the five quarterbacks currently on Clemson’s roster have combined for just one career start.
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That’s certainly a big gamble, and college football insider Chris Hummer isn’t a fan of the decision.
“Well, I’m fascinated by Clemson,” he told CBS Sports. “In some ways, Dabo Swinney joined the modern era. They had double-digit transfers this year for the first time. They totally reset on the defensive side of the ball. Dabo had the press conference of the year calling out Pete Golding and Ole Miss. Like, it was classic Dabo.
“But like the question I have for Clemson and the thing I’m most curious about is like, what does their quarterback situation look like, and why didn’t they go get a guy in the portal? I’m very curious how Dabo talks about that room because I think there’s a ton of pressure on him and he’s very stubborn. So, we’ll see how that goes.”
Swinney has yet to settle on a QB1, but after spring practice, the competition has narrowed to redshirt junior Christopher Vizzina and freshman Tait Reynolds, with Vizzina currently leading the race.
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Vizzina redshirted his first season at Clemson in 2023 and has appeared in 14 games for the Tigers, including one start. He has completed 64 of 105 passes for 596 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 1 interception.
Reynolds, meanwhile, is a four-star prospect and the 11th-best quarterback in the class of 2026, per ESPN. He chose Clemson over football offers from Florida State, Miami, Oklahoma and Texas A&M, and had previously committed to Arizona State for baseball.
While the competition remains open, Vizzina has enormous shoes to fill after Klubnik posted a PFSN College QB Impact score of 79.2 with 16 passing touchdowns last season, and with Reynolds not far behind him, he could quickly find himself under pressure.
And if both don’t work with the Tigers’ already weak offensive line, Swinney will have a lot to answer for at Clemson.