Second-Year QB 'Way Ahead' of Where Swinney Was Hoping

By all accounts, Chris Vizzina’s had a really strong fall camp.

Coming out of the spring and after a less than stellar performance from Vizzina in the spring game, there were questions about whether he or redshirt sophomore Trent Pearman might be the backup to Cade Klubnik once the season started.

While Pearman absolutely shined during the spring game, Vizzina has done the same during fall camp, and appears to have a firm grasp on the backup spot.

“He’s way ahead of where I hoped he’d be,” head coach Dabo Swinney said after Thursday’s scrimmage. “Really proud of him. He’s had about… he and Cade, have had about four or five really good days in a row.”

After signing with the Tigers as part of the 2023 recruiting class, Vizzina would redshirt a season ago while honing his skills. However, about two weeks ahead of the season-opener against Georgia in Atlanta, Swinney likes what he is seeing from his second-year quarterback.

“His ball placement, and the game has really slowed down for him,” Swinney said. “He is a really, really big kid and can run. And he’s very accurate.”

His performance over the past couple of weeks has impacted Vizzina’s confidence and in turn, Swinney said the entire team now has confidence in him.

“It has been a good camp for him,” Swinney said. “He is coming out of it with a ton of confidence. And it is good for the team to have confidence in him as well. He’s made some bigtime, including a 2-minute touchdown (Thursday).”

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