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Patience defined much of Christopher Vizzina’s Clemson career.
Now the redshirt junior quarterback is preparing for the moment he waited years to reach.
With three-year starter Cade Klubnik moving on and hoping to hear his name called in April’s NFL Draft, Vizzina enters spring practice positioned to take control of the Tigers’ offense after spending multiple seasons developing behind Klubnik.
The transition arrives during a period of offensive change. Head coach Dabo Swinney dismissed offensive coordinator Garrett Riley following a disappointing season that ended with a lopsided bowl loss to Penn State.
Clemson turned to a familiar face to reset the offense, bringing back Chad Morris, who directed some of the program’s most explosive units from 2011 to 2014.
Vizzina said the connection with Morris began immediately.
“It really started with the first day,” Vizzina recalled. “Coach Morris got here and wanted to meet with me. He just really wanted to get to know me, which meant a lot, and my journey so far. And right off the bat, after that, we started drawing up plays, getting it done, and started relaying it to the rest of the team.”
The message Morris delivered during their early meetings focused less on play design and more on the quarterback’s path to this moment.
“Just that, I've been loyal to this program, and that he's proud of me for that fact,” Vizzina said. “And he's heard things about me, but he wants me to go out there and prove it to everybody.”
Quarterback movement across the transfer portal dominated the offseason nationally, and speculation swirled about whether Clemson might pursue an experienced replacement with Klubnik departing.
Vizzina never wavered.
“A little bit,” he said when asked whether doubt from outsiders fuels him. “But I sat behind a pretty good quarterback for the past couple of years, a great leader, and someone who I look up to. I love Clemson, and I don't want people to think, well, he stayed behind him because he didn't think he was ready.”
His decision to stay, he said, always came back to his commitment to the program.
“Well, I just love Clemson. I'm a Clemson man. This is where I want to be. If I didn't want to be here, I wouldn't be here. I wouldn't buy into the process and commit to what Coach Swinney had prepared for me when I first got here. I knew when I signed to come here that it could be three years until I got my shot.”
The opportunity arrived briefly last season when Klubnik was injured and ruled out against SMU.
Vizzina delivered the most extensive performance of his Clemson career, completing 29 of 42 passes for 317 yards and three touchdowns in his first start. The yardage total exceeded the 227 passing yards he had previously accumulated in limited action.
Confidence grew from that moment, even though SMU won 35-24.
“It did a lot, but it didn't surprise me,” Vizzina noted. “I knew there was a little bit of, ‘what can you really do? Like we haven't really seen him totally play yet,’ and that was fine by me. I knew every single day that I was preparing to have that moment, and when it did come, I was ready for it.”
Clemson also reshaped its quarterback room this offseason when Swinney promoted Tajh Boyd to quarterbacks coach in January.
Boyd, who previously served as an offensive analyst and assistant quarterbacks coach, played under Morris and remains one of the most decorated passers in ACC history. He ranks second in conference history with 107 touchdown passes and fourth with 11,904 passing yards.
Boyd’s familiarity with Morris’s offense, along with experience at his previous position, has helped make the transition smoother for Vizzina.
“Tajh has always been there for me,” Vizzina said. “I don't know how many teams in the country can have a quarterback coach that played in the same system, and you can watch him do it on the screen. So that means a lot,” He added. “He's been my coach since I got here from day one. So, we're still building a relationship. But when he became the quarterback coach, I knew that he was ready for it. I have my full trust in him, because of all the time we spent with each other.”
The path to the starting job is favorable but not guaranteed.
Swinney used a NASCAR analogy in January, saying Vizzina would begin the race with the “pole position.”
Competition will come from redshirt freshman Chris Denson, fifth-year senior Trent Pearman, and freshmen Brock Bradley and Tait Reynolds as Clemson continues spring practice.
