Christopher Vizzina thankful to finally get the reps he wants and needs

Vizzina throws the ball during a recent practice (Photo by Merrell Mann).

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Mon Mar 11 06:00:03 GMT-04:00 2024

CLEMSON – Christopher Vizzina is finally getting the reps he wants. And needs.

Vizzina, the Tigers’ redshirt freshman quarterback, didn’t see a lot of reps in practice last season. The plan was to redshirt the Alabama native, and starter Cade Klubnik and backup Hunter Helms received the majority of the practice action, with veteran Paul Tyson catching a few reps here and there.

That left Vizzina plenty of time to figure out ways to get on the field, and one was on home game days. Following the game, Vizzina would walk back out onto the playing field of Death Valley and throw until his arm gave out.

“After every game, that was something I was doing with Harrison, the quarterback manager,” Vizzina said. “He's one of my good friends, and it was really just to get the reps. There’s other quarterbacks getting reps on Saturdays, so going out there to kind of fill that void of not getting any reps.

“I've got the plays on my wristband, so I was kind of just trying to get more reps on a Saturday. We had been going through it since Monday, and I just wanted to put it to work on a Saturday.”

Not playing was tougher than he thought it would be.

“Really not playing for the first time in my life, never playing, not starting. And so really it just tested really a lot of everything,” Vizzina said. “My faith, just my knowledge and everything. And you know there's a lot of people that were there to help me. Not playing is kind of tough, but I think it was the best thing for me, for my career overall, for that one year to sit there and really take it all in. Coming from high school, the speed's a lot different and everything. And I made some big jumps throughout the year and I think that was a really crucial year for me. And I'm going to look back on that year and think that it was really big for me.”

He knows Klubnik is the starter, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to push for playing time.

“We've been doing that for a while now. Me and Cade push each other every practice,” Vizzina said. “That's what every practice is for. I'm just pushing him. He's pushing me. That's just how we're going to do it every day.”

Vizzina received his first taste of getting to practice during Gator Bowl practice – Helms had moved on, and he stepped up in the pecking order.

“That was a big confidence booster because, during the season, I would prepare every day, but I wasn't sure what I would get just with them trying to prepare Cade and Hunter,” Vizzina said. “And so finally, in bowl prep, I was able to see all the things that I was working on. And Coach (Dabo) Swinney was giving me the two reps and everything, so I was able to see everything come to life. And like I said, it was a big confidence booster. Coming into the spring I thought I picked up right where I left off.”

The Tigers decided to not bring in a transfer quarterback during the off-season, with Swinney saying he has confidence in Klubnik, Vizzina, and Trent Pearman.

“It means a lot, but at the end of the day, I still have to show him. I still have to prove to him that I can play,” Vizzina said. “And so now it's a great feeling coming out here knowing that I'm going to be able to show him in the spring. And he was telling me that today, that I made some good throws. But I still have to prove to him that I could go out there and win games for Clemson.

Vizzina knows what he wants to work on this spring.

“Really everything, but really the mental side of some stuff that you don't get in mental reps. Really just being out there knowing what I have to do in certain coverages and everything, which is the kind of stuff that just comes with reps,” he said. “But I've been real thankful for guys like Tajh Boyd, Cole Stoudt and Paul Tyson, he's like my big brother to me.”