Now that Tait Reynolds is getting all the first-team reps in practice, do not expect him to relinquish the Clemson starting quarterback job anytime soon. He may be making his first college start on Saturday versus Bill Belichick's improving North Carolina defense, but Reynolds is ascending as well. It is in his nature to seize every opportunity that he comes across, striving to get exponentially better in a hurry.
When Dabo Swinney talked about Reynolds being a former two-sport star, something clicked. He might always have an affinity for baseball, and may still try to pursue playing on the diamond for the Tigers one day. However, Reynolds is in this position to be the Clemson starting quarterback because he went all-in on football when it mattered most. This refined sense of focus shows he has maturity.
"He was just different than everybody else," Swinney said to TigerNet's Grayson Mann. "When he came out of spring, it was like, 'Okay, this is going to be a competition'. It's on [Christopher Vizzina] to keep the job, win it, and separate, and it just didn't happen. Tait has put himself in this position. Nobody gave it to him. He's put himself in the position. Now it's on him to go play well and run with it."
Tait Reynolds will take full advantage of every first-team rep he gets
Reynolds was only a three-star recruit coming out of Greater Phoenix. Prior to his senior year of high school, he was not all that interested in attending football recruiting camps. He loved hitting the long ball on the baseball field. Once he realized that his athletic future could be more promising on the football gridiron, Reynolds eclipsed guys who had dedicated their entire lives to playing quarterback.
What this means is every rep Reynolds gets at quarterback, he will get better, faster. It is why he was able to usurp Christopher Vizzina over the course of a week and a half. Yes, Chad Morris will need to devise an offense that accentuates his dual-threat playmaking abilities more. However, the game already started to slow down for him a bit throughout the Week 2 contest versus Georgia Southern.
All offseason long, we were told about how mature and poised Vizzina was at the quarterback position. He does conduct himself like a professional at the podium. However, Reynolds seems to be mature beyond his years because he has seized this opportunity in a way we have not seen in Clemson for the better part of a decade. He is not Trevor Lawrence, but he could be like Tajh Boyd.
Even if Reynolds looks overwhelmed at times playing North Carolina on Saturday, Swinney needs to stick to his gut and ride it out with him. There may come a point to reinsert Vizzina into the game when it requires it. However, he should want to invest heavily into a low-risk, high-reward quarterback who is already starting to produce dividends for his team. This is how Clemson can get out of its funk.
It is apparent that the vast allocation of Clemson's quarterbacking resources should go to Reyonlds.
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