Chad Morris Wants Tait Reynolds to Keep It Simple Ahead of First Career Start

Chad Morris isn't asking Tait Reynolds to rescue Clemson's offense.

As the freshman quarterback prepares for his first collegiate start Saturday against North Carolina, Clemson's offensive coordinator would rather see Reynolds make the easy play, protect the football and allow everything else to follow.

“I think with Tait, he's a very fiery competitor,” Morris said. “What I want to see with him is just do the routine things. Don't try to be above and beyond what you're capable of doing. Just play within the system. Do the routine things.”

That might sound like a modest assignment for a quarterback taking over an offense still searching for its footing. But Morris believes Reynolds could provide something Clemson has been missing through the first two games: a spark.

Reynolds takes over after seeing action against LSU and Georgia Southern. His most extensive opportunity came Saturday against the Eagles, when he entered in the first quarter and helped Clemson to a 22-7 victory.

It wasn't mistake-free.

Morris pointed to Reynolds' fumble near the goal line after fighting for extra yardage and several zone-read decisions the freshman immediately recognized he should have handled differently.

Those mistakes are part of the education.

Several times during Clemson's win over Georgia Southern, the young quarterback failed to make the right read.

“He knew it,” Morris said of one missed read. “He's like, ‘I knew I should have pulled it. I don't know why I didn't.’ I said, ‘Well, you're learning. You're learning. You can't get away with this stuff at this level.’”

What Reynolds does after those mistakes has caught Morris' attention.

Before Morris can reach him on the sideline, Reynolds frequently heads directly to Clemson's offensive linemen, talking through what happened and trying to inject some energy into the group.

“You like to see that in your quarterback,” Morris said.

That quality could be particularly valuable now.

Morris acknowledged this week that Clemson hasn't had enough consistent leadership throughout the offense. He mentioned offensive lineman Harris Sewell and tight end Olsen Patt-Henry as players who have shown flashes, but said the Tigers need more.

Reynolds, despite his youth, might be capable of supplying some of it.

“This is a young kid that's going to come in that doesn't know any better,” Morris said. “All he knows, because he's raised in a family of — all his brothers and sisters are all athletes and played — all he knows is, ‘This is what we do.’

“So I do think that that is going to provide a spark in some areas that need it.”

There is still a balance to strike.

Reynolds' competitiveness is part of what makes him intriguing, but it's also something Clemson's coaches are trying to harness. Morris joked that convincing the freshman to slide might be difficult because Reynolds is “pretty hard-headed when it comes to that.”

Clemson doesn't need Reynolds trying to make every throw, win every collision, or solve every offensive problem himself.

Morris wants the opposite.

Make the routine play. Stay within the system. Let the offense work.

If Reynolds can bring some of his fire, Clemson won't complain.