Clemson QB Christopher Vizzina: Film Review
· Yahoo Sports
I recently posted a series of videos on my YouTube channel (please jump there and subscribe) about the biggest X-factor players for Clemson’s 2026 football season. Kobe McCloud and Amare Adams were the two biggest for the defense. On offense the biggest X-factor was quite obvious — Christopher Vizzina.
Visit afrikasportnews.co.za for more information.
Vizzina was a blue-chip recruit out of Alabama who came to Clemson and waited behind Cade Klubnik. Entering his fourth year in the program, he has only attempted 105 collegiate passes. In an era where starting QBs hit the field quickly (e.g., Julian Sayin [OSU], Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele [Cal]) or gain playing time at a smaller program and transfer in with experience (e.g., Byrum Brown [AU], Anthony Colandrea (UN], Colton Joseph [UW]) it almost feels weird to turn the reigns over to the QB understudy. Reminder – This is actually normal. What everyone else is doing is what’s new and different. Here’s what Coach Swinney said about it:
“There’s a reason why we had confidence in the decision we made. That’s because we’re there every day. CV has earned the opportunity to go be the starting quarterback at Clemson based on everything we’ve observed.”
Unfortunately, they’ve observed it, but we have not. After a relatively positive performance in a spot start vs. SMU, Vizzina only attempted 15 more passes the rest of the year. They all came against Furman. That was it! We didn’t even get an appearance in a cold and dreary Pinstripe Bowl to spark some confidence in him taking the reins for 2026.
What little we’ve seen from Vizzina outside of that SMU start has not been pretty. He’s mostly struggled in Clemson Spring Games. He also struggled in his brief appearance against Boston College, throwing an interception shortly after Klubnik went down with injury. His late season opportunity against Furman yielded just 3.5 yards per pass attempt. His start vs. SMU likely gives us our best data though, so that’s what I dive into in the film session below.
All YouTube clips are set to start at the specific timestamp of the play being referenced. Click to watch the play and then pause and move to the next one.
Athleticism
I’m not sure Vizzina has the pure breakaway speed Klubnik exhibited a few times (vs. Pittsburgh in particular), but his ability to navigate traffic and take off with purpose is a plus. He may not accrue a ton of rush yardage due to sacks (more on this later), but he’s not a statue and brings something positive with his legs for Chad Morris’s offense.
Here he weaves through traffic nicely:
Here he escapes a collapsing pocket and creates a positive play. You don’t go broke making a profit!
Offensive Line Woes
The offensive line let CV down a few times in his start vs. SMU. This first example is on a wildcat play where CV doesn’t touch the ball, but it sets the tone for this section because Harris Sewell is late on the pull and doesn’t make the block to open up the play. He’s the starting center for CV this season.
Here Vizzina steps into a sack, but if you slow the video speed to 0.8x you can watch the receivers and nobody is open. The check down isn’t even ready yet.
Here the slow developing route doesn’t open up. He doesn’t flush early, but Blake Miller gets beat and CV didn’t feel it. If this OL is a weakness in 2026, we’ll need CV to have good instincts. He’s got to see this one and try to avoid the sack.
Quick and Intermediate Throws
This simple little out route is delivered on time with accuracy. It’s not flashy, but this is what keeps chains moving. You’ll see nothing else was going to open up either. Good timing here.
Here he perfectly places a ball between four defenders where only TJ Moore can get it.
Here he throws off a play-action fake and the timing is perfect for a first down.
Deep Ball
Now the fun part. Can he sling the deep ball? With all due respect to Watson and Lawrence, Tajh Boyd was still the best I’ve ever seen at this. Maybe it will be back in play more with Chad Morris’s return. Here we see CV hit TJ Moore on a post route. The ball is perfectly placed and exactly on time. We saw so little of this with Riley-Klubnik. Maybe this can become more routine with Morris-Vizzina.
This is a home run ball. Credit to TJ Moore for the great catch, but CV sees him and gives him a chance. I’m all for taking shots. Even if it means you have a few more three-and-outs, you can’t expect to consistently put together 10, 12, and 15 play drives to score unless you’re an exceptional run blocking team. On paper, that’s not this squad’s strength so more shots like this please.
Closing Thoughts
Rewatching the SMU condensed game again made me worry about this offensive line coming into 2026. It also made me excited to see TJ Moore and confident that Christopher Vizzina can deliver above average QB play if the offensive line can be adequate.
Overall, I see a smart quarterback who is neither reckless nor gun shy. He connected on some big passes in big moments but also hit on check-downs and intermediate routes. Early in the game it was very conservative, but I believe that was more about playcalling than the QB not willing to let it rip. I still have questions about the Tigers offense, but they’re mostly about the offensive line. When put in a position to succeed, Vizzina showed me he is capable.