Clemson has ‘some good ingredients’: Three takeaways from the Tigers’ first scrimmage

CLEMSON — Clemson got its first real measuring stick of preseason camp Saturday.

Three weeks before the Tigers travel to Baton Rouge to open the 2026 season against LSU, Clemson held its first preseason scrimmage inside Death Valley. The Tigers worked through different areas of the field, short-yardage situations, and special teams while also pumping crowd noise into the stadium to challenge the offense's operation.

Dabo Swinney came away encouraged.

“Probably one of the better first scrimmages, honestly, that I've been around,” Swinney said.

That didn't mean it was clean. Swinney pointed to penalties, mental mistakes and operational issues that Clemson has to correct before its Sept. 5 opener at LSU.

Here are three takeaways from Swinney's post-scrimmage comments Saturday.

Clemson's quarterback competition remains wide open

Saturday represented another important evaluation point in Clemson's quarterback competition, but it apparently didn't create much separation.

Swinney was complimentary of the group, specifically Christopher Vizzina and freshman Tait Reynolds, while also praising Brock Bradley and Trent Pearman.

“I thought they all did a really nice job,” Swinney said. “Again, there was nothing that disappointed me as far as just their ability to run the offense, their ability to make plays.”

There were mistakes. Swinney mentioned a turnover caused by the timing between a snap and motion as well as one interception, which he credited to a strong play by the defender.

The quarterbacks countered those mistakes with explosive plays of their own.

“They did some good things, man, they all made big plays,” Swinney said. “They all threw touchdowns, they all did a nice job.”

Swinney was particularly encouraged by what Vizzina and Reynolds provided as runners.

At 6-foot-4 and 210 pounds, Vizzina gives Clemson size at the position, while the 6-foot-2, 215-pound Reynolds brings another physical element to the competition.

Swinney compared Vizzina's running ability to former Clemson quarterback Tajh Boyd, not necessarily a quarterback who will consistently run away from defenders, but one capable of using his size and athleticism to move the chains.

“He's a tough kid, and again, he's a big old dude,” Swinney said of Vizzina. “He's pretty athletic and runs well enough. He's gonna run way better than people who want him to, that play him.”

Reynolds offers something different.

“Tait, that's just one of his gifts,” Swinney said. “He's just, he's big and fast. I mean, he can go score.”

Asked whether Saturday's scrimmage changed the timeline for determining Clemson's quarterback pecking order, Swinney didn't indicate that a decision was imminent.

“Just the next step in the process,” Swinney said.

With three weeks remaining before LSU, Clemson's quarterback competition appears to be exactly that — a competition.

Clemson isn't ready to settle on its starting five up front

The quarterback competition isn't the only significant offensive battle Clemson is still sorting through.

The Tigers continue to experiment with combinations along the offensive line, and Swinney said the competition currently extends beyond five players.

“I'd say that as more top five right now, it's more like kind of top eight or nine that we are really kind of competing with,” Swinney said.

Clemson has been moving players between positions, including getting work at tackle and creating additional depth at center and guard.

Saturday offered an important evaluation because Clemson spent much of the scrimmage matching its top units against each other in live work.

“You can't just base it on going out there and playing tag,” Swinney said. “You gotta, I mean, live twists and pickups and communication and all that type of stuff, you gotta make a decision.”

There were encouraging signs.

Swinney identified Clemson's tight ends, running backs and quarterbacks as offensive bright spots from the scrimmage and said the performance of the first-team offensive line helped make that possible.

“I thought our offensive line, that first group, did a lot of good things,” Swinney said. “There wasn't a lot of just guys leaking through on that first group.”

The challenge now is determining which combination gives Clemson its best five.

Swinney said offensive line coach Matt Luke has been moving pieces around to evaluate how the unit would need to be constructed depending on who ultimately wins individual jobs.

“The good news is they're making it hard, and that's the great thing,” Swinney said. “It's not that we're like, well, it's the best of the bad. We've got some really prideful, competitive kids.”

Saturday's film should help Clemson begin narrowing that group, but the competition isn't over yet.

Young players are starting to force their way into the conversation

Perhaps the most encouraging theme from Swinney's comments was the number of young players beginning to show up.

That was evident on both sides of the ball.

Freshman receiver Cam Blivens produced one of the day's notable offensive plays when Pearman connected with him on a slant-and-go for a touchdown.

“Cam went up and got it, really glad that kid's here,” Swinney said. “He's gonna be a guy that can help us at some point, really athletic.”

Swinney noted Blivens' basketball background as a “2,000-plus-point scorer in the state of Tennessee and praised the athleticism that has started to translate onto the football field.

“He's athletic, he can run, he's got some wiggle to him,” Swinney said.

Freshman receiver Gordon Sellars III also drew praise as he continues progressing through his first Clemson camp.

Defensively, Swinney singled out defensive tackle Markus Strong and defensive end London Merritt among the players who caught his attention.

“Markus Strong really, really showed up, and it was good to see that,” Swinney said. “London Merritt, he's a guy that's gonna help us.”

Strong is a 6-foot-3, 295-pound junior, while Merritt is a 6-foot-3, 250-pound sophomore; the latter was heavily courted by Clemson during the recruiting process before making his way to Colorado for a season.

Swinney also pointed toward Clemson's developing depth at running back and linebacker, two positions where the Tigers are looking for players to establish themselves.

“Those guys are creating some good value by what they're doing in practice,” Swinney said.

There is still plenty of evaluation ahead. Clemson has two more days Swinney described as “true camp” before classes begin, and next Thursday is expected to be the Tigers' final full practice featuring extensive live work.

But with the opener approaching, Clemson is beginning to get a clearer picture of which players might be ready to help.

“We're a long way away from winning a football game,” Swinney said, “But we've got some good ingredients.”