Why Dabo Swinney said freshman Tait Reynolds 'absolutely' is Clemson football's QB1
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CLEMSON — Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney had just one word when asked if he's seen enough to keep freshman Tait Reynolds in the Tigers' starting quarterback role.
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"Absolutely."
It was his first college start, one that Reynolds said he was "a little nervous" for, but the Tigers (2-1) earned a 28-20 victory over the Tar Heels (2-1) on Sept. 19.
Calls for Reynolds to start grew louder the more Christopher Vizzina struggled, and Reynolds was named the starter for the North Carolina game.
"He’s a competitor, and you saw it," Swinney said. "Some big‑time plays in a big environment. You’re down 17‑3, and everything’s against you, to just have the toughness to keep believing; it’s hard to coach that. It’s hard to coach what he has."
Like Week 2 vs Georgia Southern, Reynolds had his highs and lows. Swinney said he was frustrated with Reynolds' first half that played a role in Clemson's offensive struggles. The Tigers gained more than 10 yards once on their first five drives, but their sixth drive was when Swinney thought Reynolds started to settle in.
Reynolds completed 7 of 9 passes on Clemson's field-goal drive before halftime, before he had to spike it and throw it away on second-and-goal and third-and-goal, respectively. Reynolds missed a wide-open Olsen Patt-Henry standing to his right on his spike, and then underthrew a wide-open deep route for an interception to start the second half. But Reynolds cleaned his play up after that.
"I made a few mistakes at the beginning. It is what it is. We just got to bounce back from it. We caught a little rhythm there going into halftime, and it was good," Reynolds said. "I think our team needed a little momentum to just get going."
Reynolds guided two full-field touchdown drives and another 44-yard touchdown drive in the second half. His first touchdown pass was on a well-executed fake screen-and-go to tight end Christian Bentencur for 27 yards in the third quarter. Reynolds finished 20-of-29 for 215 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
"Everybody, all the coaches, everybody just told me I have to grow up," Reynolds said. "There's a lot of mistakes I made. Just grow up a little bit and keep learning."
What Dabo Swinney said about Christopher Vizzina injury
Vizzina injured his elbow against Georgia Southern and didn’t dress against the Tar Heels. But Swinney made it clear earlier this week that his decision to start Reynolds was based on performance only.
Still, Clemson was without its veteran backup against UNC. Swinney originally believed on Sept. 13 that Vizzina would be ready, but he could never get his left arm to the point where he could grip the football well after his arm swelled up more on Sept. 15.
"The swelling, and then having to drain it, kind of gave him a setback, and he just never could get where he could secure the ball," Swinney said, before saying he thinks Vizzina's injury is a short-term one.
Nick Coppola covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA Today Network. Email him at [email protected], follow him on X @Nick_Coppola__ and like his Facebook page at Nick Coppola, Clemson Sports.
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Why Dabo Swinney said freshman Tait Reynolds 'absolutely' is Clemson football's QB1