Clemson obviously had a disappointing season last year, but to their credit, they made major adjustments. This included multiple assistant coaching changes, a bevy of major portal acquisitions, and much more successful investment in high school recruiting.
To start the 2026 season, they’ll be facing a program that experienced even more change this offseason with LSU bringing in Lane Kiffin as head coach and Charlie Weiss Jr. as offensive coordinator. A huge transfer haul joins them. These two programs
will clash in Baton Rouge to start the season. What does Clemson need to nail down before they get there?
1. Do they have a QB they trust?
After electing not to get Christopher Vizzina game experience in the Pinstripe Bowl, it felt like Clemson would look to the transfer portal for their 2026 starting QB. That wasn’t the case though as Clemson largely eschewed the portal on offense (other than running back Chris Johnson Jr.). Here’s what Coach Swinney said at ACC Media Days on the QB situation.
“We made a decision that we weren’t going to go get some shiny object at quarterback… If it doesn’t work out, we’re going to get raked over the coals for that. You’ve got to make decisions you believe in… There’s a reason why we had confidence in the decision we made. That’s because we’re there every day. CV has earned the opportunity to go be the starting quarterback at Clemson based on everything we’ve observed. Now, if we didn’t think he was good enough and he hadn’t demonstrated the things he can control we might have made a different decision. The other thing is we knew who was coming in and we believed in him (Tait Reynolds) and Brock [Bradley].” – Coach Swinney
Living off portal QBs can become an expensive addiction. Miami, Louisville, and Florida State are just some examples of programs that are portal dependent for QB. Miami and Louisville appear to have the NIL budget to make it work, but Florida State does not. Coach Swinney would likely prefer to avoid that rat race.
In the short term though, Clemson can’t afford a sluggish start against what looks like a front-loaded schedule (LSU, Cal, and Miami all in the first five weeks). There’s no time for growing pains for a QB who has minimal experience or a true freshman in Tait Reynolds who missed most of his senior year of high school with injury.
Between the recruiting pedigree and the performance in his lone start against SMU, I tend to believe in Christopher Vizzina. That said, it remains a much bigger unknown that it had to be given the decision not to start looking ahead to this season in latter part of 2025 when he could have been worked into games for experience. The truth is we don’t really know what we have at QB and that’s the most important position in sports. They need to find out in Fall Camp.
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2. Did the coaching changes work?
Sometimes you have to hit rock bottom to make changes. Last year, the Clemson rushing attack certainly hit rock bottom. They finished 105th nationally in rushing yards per game averaging under 4.0 yards per carry. That abysmal performance was enough for Coach Swinney to call it the worst running team he’s coached and dismiss Offensive Coordinator Garrett Riley.
Fixing the rushing attack is priority number one. Running back Adam Randall is off to the NFL, but Gideon Davidson returns and Chris Johnson Jr. joins via the transfer portal to add speed.
The bigger question is on the offensive line where they lost four starters and didn’t add anybody from the portal. We’re already hearing Coach Morris is pushing them harder than before with his intense practices, and it has been an adjustment. A coach can only mold what he’s got though. Does he have the right combination of talent and experience on the offensive line? Does his playcalling and scheming still work as well as it did during his last stint at Clemson?
Other major changes include new staff responsibilities in the secondary and on special teams. The safety room needed a full reset, and boy did it get one. Communication lapses were such a big issue that Tom Allen rearranged the staff mid-season, putting his son over all the defensive backs to ensure message consistency and get everyone on the same page.
Who can forget the scene when Coach Swinney lit into the safeties following yet another bust and Khalil Barnes appeared totally checked out? Change felt inevitable after that. Both starters have since transferred with Khalil Barnes going to UGA and Ricardo Jones to Vanderbilt. Coach Conn was dismissed and found a new home in Birmingham (Samford). Coaches Nolan Turner and Corico Wright now lead a transfer-led safety group. How will this completely new group gel?
Finally, Coach Swinney finally made a major investment in special teams improvement. Going all the way back to the onside kick and kickoff return disaster of the 2015 National Championship, it feels like Special Teams has been a bugaboo for Clemson. The days of electric returners CJ Spiller, Jacoby Ford, and Sammy Watkins are a thing of the past and instead we are haunted by blocked field goals and short punts.
Coach Swinney invested $1 million to bring in long time NFL coach Rich Bisaccia. Will Clemson become an aggressor picking up extra yards and possessions on special teams. That could swing a game and the momentum of a season.
3. Is there strength in numbers at defensive tackle?
The Tigers lost their top three defensive tackles with Peter Woods and DeMonte Capehart going to the NFL and Stephiylan Green transferring to LSU. Vic Burley has yet to live up to his recruiting pedigree and Amare Adams struggled as a true freshman last season, so the Tigers went heavy in the portal at the position. Kourtney Kelly, Markus Strong, Andy Burburija, and Devarrick Woods all joined the position group through the portal. Kelly is out with a torn ACL and returnee Hevin Brown-Schuler is out with Hodkins Lymphomia. Will there be enough capable options to build a rotation that finds its strength in depth even if it lacks star power?
Early reports indicate Markus Strong has emerged as a leader and Amare Adams looks healthy and rededicated. Burburija wasn’t here in the spring, but there’s optimism he will play a big role. Can one of Champ Thompson, Vic Burley, or Devarrick Woods join them in a rotation that sends relentless waves? Will numbers turn this potential weakness into a strength?
4. Have they settled on offensive line combinations?
The most pressing and worrisome question is on the offensive line where the transfer portal wasn’t used to help replace four starters. Brayden Jacobs is back and appears to have left tackle locked down after a strong freshman campaign with a 72 PFF grade. Beyond that, there’s a lot of unknown.
Harris Sewell, who posted a 60 PFF grade at RG and will be tasked with moving to center. Collin Sadler who posted a sub-60 grade will compete across the remaining three spots with Easton Ware at right tackle, Ronan O’Connell at right guard, and Elijah Thurmon at left guard. Have Sadler’s struggles been mostly injury related and will he reach a new level if healthy? He wasn’t healthy in the Spring though. Will he be now? Can a youngster like Gavin Blanchard or Grant Wise break through and outplay a veteran?
The Tigers have a number former highly rated recruits, but they’re also mostly the same players who didn’t unseat a group of starters that struggled mightily a season ago. Will development and better injury luck change outcomes?
