CLEMSON, S.C. -- Fourth-year junior quarterback Christopher Vizzina will be behind center for Clemson when the Tigers begin their season Saturday with a highly anticipated game at No. 13 LSU.
Vizzina has just one career start under his belt, but he entered the offseason as the odds-on favorite to land the job after the departure of Cade Klubnik.
While naming Vizzina the starter Tuesday, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney also said true freshman Tait Reynolds "likely" will see playing time against coach Lane Kiffin's LSU team.
"CV didn't have a lot of competition in the spring because he was here and then you had four quarterbacks," Swinney said. "Tait by the end of spring had really separated from that group. I thought Tait made a big jump at the end of spring and it just carried on.
"It's been a lot of fun. CV is just a little ahead. He's not a mile ahead, but he's ahead."
Swinney said there is no plan for Reynolds to get a specific series in the game or be limited to a single package of plays.
"Both are ready to play," he said. "There's no package. Both guys can run the Clemson offense and both will be ready to play."
Reynolds spent the final week of spring ball working with the No. 2 offense, and afterward, Swinney announced a depth chart that featured Vizzina as the starter and Reynolds as the top backup.
"There was a time where I really thought Tait had a chance to take the job," Swinney said Tuesday, "and then he had a couple disastrous days when he just looked like a freshman. CV has just been incredibly steady. He came out ahead to this point."
Vizzina appeared in parts of six games last season. He passed for 404 yards and four touchdowns.
Clemson is coming off a disappointing 7-6 season -- Swinney's worst since 2010 -- and saw a host of departures to the NFL, including Klubnik -- who this week won the role as the New York Jets' backup to starter Geno Smith.
