What will it take for Dabo Swinney\u2019s Clemson team to bounce back from last year\u2019s disappointment and have a successful season in 2026?<\/p>\n
ESPN college football analyst Greg McElroy gave his thoughts on that very topic during an appearance on ESPN\u2019s Get Up show.<\/p>\n
McElroy says it all starts at the quarterback position, where redshirt junior Christopher Vizzina and true freshman Tait Reynolds are competing to replace three-year starter Cade Klubnik as the Tigers\u2019 starting signal-caller.<\/p>\n
Vizzina will still be at the top of the quarterback depth chart when fall camp gets underway, while Reynolds heads into fall camp as Clemson\u2019s No. 2 QB. Vizzina is in what Swinney calls the pole position when it comes to the quarterback race, but Reynolds really pushed Vizzina in the spring and has continued to do so through summer workouts.<\/p>\n
\u201cFirst of all, they need good quarterback play,\u201d McElroy said. \u201cIs it gonna be Chris Vizzina? Sounds like he\u2019s stepping in. Look, Cade Klubnik, when things were going good, he was great. When things weren\u2019t going good, it was a rollercoaster. So, they need stable quarterback play.\u201d<\/p>\n
McElroy added that the Tigers \u201cgotta be able to run the football\u201d this season as well, pointing to the fact Clemson\u2019s leading rushing last year was a wide receiver-turned-running back in Adam Randall with 814 yards.<\/p>\n
With Randall now off to the NFL, sophomore Gideon Davidson is the presumed starting running back, though the former consensus top-100 prospect isn\u2019t the only talented back on the roster. The Tigers signed Chris Johnson Jr. out of the transfer portal, and seeing as he\u2019s one of the fastest running backs in the country, he adds elite-level speed to that room.<\/p>\n
\u201cLast year, their top running back at one point was a converted wide receiver that was in his fifth year,\u201d McElroy said. \u201cIt\u2019s not like they had a dude at running back, and they haven\u2019t had one since Will Shipley. Phil Mafah was a good one, but they need more consistent play at running back and need to be more balanced.\u201d<\/p>\n
McElroy says health at wide receiver and overall improvement\/consistency in the defensive front seven will also be key to Clemson\u2019s success this season.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey need their receivers to stay healthy, which hasn\u2019t happened the last few years,\u201d McElroy said. \u201cAnd last year, with two bona fide dudes along the defensive line [Peter Woods and T.J. Parker], that group was really underwhelming. Now they\u2019re gonna need those guys to take a step collectively in the front seven, because I just think they were too inconsistent last year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Clemson was ranked No. 4 in the AP preseason poll last year, only to finish the season 7-6, the second-worst record in Swinney\u2019s full 17 seasons as the Tigers\u2019 head coach. After losing at home to LSU in Week 1, Clemson started 1-3 and then 3-5.<\/p>\n
McElroy believes Clemson\u2019s 2026 season will reveal a lot about Swinney\u2019s culture.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen they got punched \u2013 here\u2019s the thing about Clemson \u2013 like, Clemson\u2019s secret sauce is culture. That is what they are. That\u2019s what Dabo believes in,\u201d McElroy said. \u201cAnd last year, in a year that was supposed to be their breakthrough \u2013 hey, we were building towards this \u2013 they get punched in the mouth Week 1, and they don\u2019t recover and they stumble out of the gates and look awful in the first six, seven games of the season.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, culture is supposed to be able to absorb that punch and start punching back. They didn\u2019t. So now I think making sure that culture is not a liability moving forward, making sure that culture is still their secret sauce, and allowing them to weather the storm, which they couldn\u2019t do last year, which led to a very disappointing start to the season.\u201d<\/p>\n
“Clemson’s secret sauce is culture. That is what they are, and that’s what Dabo believes in.”@GregMcElroy<\/a> breaks down what it will take for Dabo Swinney and Clemson to have a successful season. \ud83d\udc40 pic.twitter.com\/Ti6iXL9FZL<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Get Up (@GetUpESPN) July 16, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n