Tait Reynolds Takes Blame for Clemson’s Offensive Struggles: ‘It All Comes Back to the QB'
CLEMSON, S.C. — Tait Reynolds wasn't interested in making excuses for Clemson's offensive struggles Saturday night.
After the Tigers repeatedly settled for field goals instead of touchdowns, the freshman quarterback pointed first at himself.
“It all comes back to the quarterback,” Reynolds said. “I think I just made a few mistakes tonight. So we're gonna get back in the study and get better from it.”
Reynolds was thrust into extended action after Christopher Vizzina left the game with an apparent upper-body issue. Reynolds said afterward he wasn't sure whether Vizzina would return.
“They just kept telling me to go out there, and I went out there,” Reynolds said.
What followed was an uneven but intriguing look at the freshman Clemson recruited out of Queen Creek, Ariz. The 6-foot-2, 215-pound Reynolds showed the athleticism and arm talent that made him a legitimate challenger for Clemson's starting quarterback job this offseason.
He finished the game 16-27 for 178 yards and had 14 carries for 38 yards and looked like a young quarterback playing his first extensive college snaps.
Dabo Swinney saw both sides.
“It's easy for us all to sit here and judge a guy. Until you've played that position, you get out there in front of a bunch of people, and a lot is happening,” Swinney said. “You're a young guy. I know he looks [physically] like a veteran guy, but he's still a young player.”
One example came in Clemson's zone-read game. Swinney felt Reynolds had opportunities to keep the football in the second half but didn't always make the correct read.
“It's just the end. I mean, it's the read,” Swinney said. “It's not complicated. It's really not.”
There were other freshman mistakes, including a delay of game that Swinney attributed to Reynolds getting away from his process while trying to do too much.
But there were also plays that showed why Clemson is so high on him.
“The best offenses have a guy at quarterback that can move,” Swinney said. “When things are covered, when things break down. A perfect example is that third-and-10 play. I mean, he gets outside, they got him, and then they don't have him, and then he outruns them.”
That wasn't the only play that caught Swinney's attention. Reynolds made a throw to Tyler Brown while under pressure that left Clemson's head coach raving about his arm talent.
“You ain't going to see many people make that play,” Swinney said. “There's just not many people who make that play.”
The challenge now is turning those flashes into consistent quarterback play.
Reynolds acknowledged that himself. Asked where he most needed to improve, he pointed to giving Clemson's receivers better opportunities.
“Me personally, I just gotta give my receivers more of a chance,” Reynolds said.
He also said there is another step to take to control Clemson's offense before the snap.
“I have to get better at it,” Reynolds said. “We have some really good leaders on the offense as well, and I have to do my part a little better, and I'll start commanding more.”
For Reynolds, Saturday represented something else, too: a return to meaningful game action after missing his senior season of high school.
“I missed my senior year of high school, too, so it's been a minute,” Reynolds said. “It felt great to finally get back in the action, and I just realized how much I missed it.”
Swinney offered perhaps the most interesting comparison of the night when he looked back 15 years to another talented Clemson quarterback trying to find his footing.
He told former Clemson quarterback’s coach Tajh Boyd that Reynolds reminded him of Boyd early in the 2011 season, when the Tigers struggled against Troy and Wofford before Boyd developed into one of the most productive quarterbacks in program history.
“He looks like you looked against Troy and Wofford your redshirt sophomore year,” Swinney said he told Boyd on the sideline. “Very similar.”
Swinney noted that while the talent is obvious, the work that remains is too.
“There's a lot to be excited about, but pump the brakes because he did some really boneheaded stuff,” Swinney said.
Still, Swinney believes the mistakes Clemson saw Saturday are correctable.
“We just got to polish him up and hone him in, and he's just got to continue to play. He'll get better,” Swinney said.
Reynolds' own assessment wasn't much different.
There were plays he'd like back. Clemson left touchdowns on the field. And the freshman knows his performance has to improve.
But after finally getting an extended opportunity to play again, Reynolds also walked away convinced Clemson's offense has room to grow.
“I'm extremely confident that this team can get better and improve,” Reynolds said. “We’ve got some dudes, and we'll put it together.”
— Swanny
