Quarterback numbers: Where Clemson stands with scholarships, commits and offers

Klubnik played 974 snaps last season.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Tue Apr 30 07:00:03 GMT-04:00 2024

It’s that time of year. Head coach Dabo Swinney’s high school camps are still over a month away, the spring game is almost a month in the past, and football season is but a distant glimmer.

That means it’s time to examine the different positions on the Clemson football team this season and beyond. As we examine the position groups, we will break down the scholarship numbers at each spot, along with committed prospects and offers.

Current roster

The Tigers have three scholarship quarterbacks and two walk-ons. The three scholarship quarterbacks are Cade Klubnik, Christopher Vizzina, and Paul Tyson. However, Tyson won’t wear a uniform this fall unless there is an emergency. He will act as a student-coach and only don the pads and helmet if a quarterback or two goes down.

Klubnik is the starter heading into fall camp, and it’s not an overstatement to say that the first three or four games of this season might be the most important of his career. Klubnik played a lot of football last season – he completed 290-of-454 passes for 19 touchdowns and nine interceptions, as well as having rushed 125 times for 182 yards and four touchdowns in 974 snaps over 12 games (all starts).

His 974 snaps were the fourth-most by a Clemson quarterback in a season and the most since Deshaun Watson’s 1,115 in 2016.

He has shown glimpses of greatness, and there have been moments when you wonder what he was thinking. Swinney says the Tigers can live with some of the mistakes, and there are others where Klubnik has to improve.

“The biggest thing was too many disasters, as we call them – sacks and tackles for loss and turnovers,” Swinney said. “We’ll live with four interceptions. If he throws four interceptions next year, hey, sign me up for that. I’ll be a happy guy.

“But he had way too many tackles for loss. What that speaks to is pocket presence, pocket awareness. That’s where he’s got to get better. He’s got to take care of the ball better.”

The pieces around him weren’t a lot of help. The offensive line was porous at times, the receivers didn’t create separation, and there were drops at inopportune times. And there were too many occasions where the Tigers would drive into the opponents’ redzone and turn the ball over. The Tigers were 15th in redzone trips (60) but scored on just 44 of them, and just 34 were touchdowns.

Vizzina is likely second-string heading into the fall, and he’s another one who faces a big summer and fall. Swinney said Vizzina shined in spring practice, but fans didn’t see much improvement during the spring game.

Trent Pearman is third string and a walk-on, but after the spring game there is a good chance Pearman earns a scholarship. Klubnik completed 13 of 26 passes for 158 yards and an interception that was returned 46 yards. Vizzina went 14-for-25 for 108 yards with two interceptions. Pearman completed 13 of 18 passes for 141 yards, and a perfectly placed fade to wide receiver Bryant Wesco Jr. for a 9-yard touchdown. The former Daniel High standout also rushed eight times for 62 yards, including a 49-yard touchdown.

The other walk-on is Colby Shaw out of nearby Duncan and Byrnes High School.

When it comes to the 2025 recruiting class, the Tigers offered just two quarterbacks – George McIntyre (who is committed to Tennessee) and current commit Blake Hebert. Swinney has indicated that the Tigers are happy with the one quarterback for this cycle, so as of right now the Tigers have the three scholarship QBs and just one committed. The Tigers also didn’t grab a quarterback in 2024 after redshirting Vizzina, calling Vizzina the 2024 guy.

That means the Tigers took one quarterback in 2022 (Klubnik, but Pearman was also in that class, so you can count two), took one in 2023 and 2024, and have just one for 2025. That isn’t a lot of depth or security.

How do things stand for 2026? I’m glad you asked because, in a lot of ways, it feels like this might be the most important take in a few years. Clemson needs to land an elite quarterback. The Tigers haven’t offered any quarterbacks for 2026 – Swinney and staff won’t dispense offers for another month, but we will see offers start to trickle out of his high school camp.

They’ve talked a lot to Brodie McWhorter out of Cartersville (GA) Cass, and we’ve spoken recently with Brock Bradley out of Birmingham (AL) Spain Park, Cam O’Hara out of Union (KY) Cooper, DJ Bordeaux (Douglasville (GA) Douglas County, and Noah Grubbs out of Lake Mary (FL). All have confirmed that Clemson has been in recent contact, and there is interest on both ends.