This is what leadership looks like. Christopher Vizzina came to Clemson for a reason. He wants to win big here. However, he knew by coming over from his native Birmingham that he would have to wait his turn to start games. Vizzina spent the last three seasons backing up Cade Klubnik at Clemson. While the Tigers were every bit up and down over that time frame, Vizzina never lost sight of the main prize.
After Tuesday's practice, Vizzina met with the local media to answer some questions. He was asked why he decided not to transfer, despite playing sparingly during his first three years on campus. It came down to "him wanting to be here."
"I've always wanted to be here," Vizzina said. "I want people to know that this is the place I want to win at. Obviously, [I'm] still standing here, so that's true. And I feel like all my teammates can see that in how I play."
By sticking around as long as he has, this may have played a part in Vizzina being undervalued by the national media. Vizzina may be in the midst of an intriguing quarterback battle with Tait Reynolds, but all signs point toward him beating out the talented true freshman. Even in the event that Reynolds does at some point overtake him on the depth chart, you can see a well-defined leader in Vizzina.
Christopher Vizzina gives Clemson fans yet another reason to back him this season
For Clemson to turn it around this season, key players will need to up their ante in the leadership department. While Sammy Brown, Will Heldt, and Olsen Patt-Henry have already demonstrated those abilities after representing Clemson at ACC Media Days, none of them play quarterback. Vizzina may have impressed in his lone Clemson start versus SMU, but he is an unknown commodity to most of us.
Thankfully, we all get to see Vizzina's Clemson journey unfold before our very eyes this season. It has been a long time coming. However, his trust and faith in Dabo Swinney and his staff show that he has the right temperament to lead this team out of the tunnel versus LSU over Labor Day Weekend. Vizzina may have to develop new components to his game to thrive in Chad Morris' offense, but he is all about it.
That is the most important thing in all of this. Do you want to be here or not? Clearly, Vizzina had no interest in exiting stage right by way of the transfer portal. It just goes to show that he is built to help orchestrate the ACC bounce-back this team needs. All it may take is another 10-win season under Swinney for all of Clemson's wildest dreams to come true. Clemson has the leader in place to do this.
Right now, we should all feel so much better about Clemson's quarterback situation immediately upon hearing Vizzina speak at the podium. For many of us, this was the first time we got to hear his voice. He sounds like a confident young man who is ready for all the challenges to be thrown his way. This plays a part in Vizzina being the ultimate throwback player this Clemson program needs today.
While his play can be scrutinized, Vizzina seems like the foxhole guy his teammates can rally behind.
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