Tigers short on experience at the QB spot in 2024

Klubnik needs to stay healthy in 2024.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Jan 24, 2024, 7:00 AM

Clemson’s coaching staff stood pat and didn’t add a quarterback to the 2024 recruiting class, and head coach Dabo Swinney maintains the Tigers aren’t looking in the portal for a quarterback. That means the coaches are counting on starter Cade Klubnik to remain healthy.

It wasn’t that long ago – 2018, to be exact – that the Tigers had perhaps the most talented quarterback room in the country. Clemson entered the 2018 spring game with incumbent starter Kelly Bryant, backup Hunter Johnson, redshirt freshman Chase Brice, and true freshman Trevor Lawrence.

In a foreshadowing of things to come, Lawrence shined that day and put the rest of the country on notice that he would play that season. After the game, I spoke with ESPN college football analyst Tom Luginbill, and he said what others were thinking.

“I think we have to have a lot of perspective here. I’m going to make this statement and it may sound wild, but that’s the best four quarterbacks I have ever seen compiled on one Division I roster at one time ever,” Luginbill said. “I’ve never seen four quarterbacks. They have the most intriguing -- and at the same time complicated -- quarterback dilemma. It’s a great problem to have, but in fairness to Kelly Bryant, the coaches raved about the 14 days prior, and unfortunately for him, he missed a couple of shots early in the passing game, but so much of what makes his game special is when he can create and extend plays. In a situation like yesterday, those plays were blown dead, so we didn’t get to see a lot of his stuff that could’ve been spectacular because of the setting we were in.”

Johnson saw enough to realize there wasn’t a path to true playing time at Clemson and transferred to Northwestern that summer (he eventually wound up back at Clemson). Lawrence eventually replaced Bryant, who left the program and later transferred to Missouri. So, all of that talent led to just two of those quarterbacks being available by mid-season in 2018.

The situation is vastly different in 2024. Klubnik is the unquestioned starter, but it’s also necessary that he make significant strides this offseason. And stay healthy. Swinney told us during bowl practice that he was comfortable with his three quarterbacks – Klubnik, Christopher Vizzina, and Trent Pearman – and that if a fourth quarterback was needed, Paul Tyson could step out of his coaching role and put on a helmet.

“We talk about that at every position, but we like the guys we have, and we like who's coming. So we feel pretty good about the direction that we have there,” Swinney said. “Paul Tyson is going to stay. He's got another year. We call him Uncle Paul. Uncle Paul, he's going to be our Zeb Noland (the former grad student who suited up for South Carolina in a recent season). Lord, God help us. Hopefully, we don't have to get to that point. If you get to a fourth quarterback, it's usually not pretty good anyway.

“You're probably resetting your goals if you're down to your fourth quarterback. But Uncle Paul is going to stay. Uncle Paul is going to become a coach. He's going to become Coach Paul. He's going to be a student coach, and that's what he wants to do. That was part of getting him here, but he's got another year of eligibility. He's going to be a coach, but he's going to stay in shape and keep his arm ready. And again, if we had to get to a fourth guy, he'd be the guy to go play for us and could function, obviously, and know everything. Obviously, he's going to know the game plan week in and week out intimately as being a coach for us.”

If something happens to Klubnik, the Tigers will be short on true game experience. Vizzina redshirted in 2023, and even though he played nine snaps, he didn’t throw a pass. Pearman is a walk-on who has played two snaps over his two seasons and hasn’t thrown a pass. Tyson has played five seasons – and thanks to COVID has a sixth if he wants it – but has thrown just 20 passes in his career (and just three since the 2021 season). If you do the math, that’s a total of 20 passes attempted among the backups, all by Tyson.

However, the coaches are high on Pearman.

“We really, really like Trent Pearman. He's got some moxie and savvy. And those of you that have watched him play, I mean, this kid was a two-time Gatorade Player of the Year in the state of South Carolina. This ain't no slouch now,” Swinney said. “This kid can play. He needed to get a little bigger. He needed to get a little stronger. But he's got savvy, he's got instincts, he's got moxie. I mean, he is a really, really, really, really good third-team quarterback.”

Swinney is hopeful that Vizzina can push Klubnik this spring.

“I hope so. That is a perfect example of what you get out of bowl prep,” Swinney said. “I am going to tell you what, it has been fun. We have done a couple of scrimmages, and hopefully, we will have one more. Seeing CV and Trent (Pearman), those guys are good players. CV has been awesome.”

Vizzina was a national top-50 player cited as a consensus four-star prospect by recruiting services after he completed 561-of-865 passes for 7,220 yards and 59 touchdown passes in his prep career. He also scored 29 rushing touchdowns, giving him 88 combined touchdowns rushing and passing for his career.

He connected on 161-of-251 passes (64.1 percent) as a senior, totaling 1,828 yards and 16 scores, and also rushed for 341 yards and 11 scores. Ironically, he had one of his best games of the year against Pelham, Swinney’s alma mater, when he completed 22-of-27 passes for 274 yards and three touchdowns.

“I was really anxious to see him because he has not had a lot,” Swinney said during bowl practice. “He has done some scout team, but most of the stuff has been mental work. We got him what we could, so I was anxious to see where he was based on what I saw in August. It’s been a fun week or so watching him. You get reminded pretty quick on why he was such a high-level recruit. He is big. He is strong. He can run. He is accurate with the football. He is a very good player.”