CLEMSON – In today’s college athletics landscape, waiting years for playing time is rare, especially for highly-touted high school prospects.

While several in his shoes have transferred or grown complacent, quarterback Christopher Vizzina has not been phased.

Vizzina, who was ranked as the No. 7 quarterback in his high school class according to ESPN, spent the first two and a half years of his college career backing up starter Cade Klubnik, developing behind the scenes.

As Klubnik has grown into a leader and one of the top returning quarterbacks in the country, Vizzina has not been in the spotlight of Clemson’s offense. According to the rising redshirt sophomore, however, the grass is not always greener anywhere else.

 “I can’t sit here and complain about not playing  when I knew I was coming in behind another top rated quarterback and I was going to redshirt,” Vizzina said. 

“I can’t sit here and complain when I knew this was a possibility, and at the same time I’m in here working every single day. They don’t coach me any different than Cade so I still feel like I’m getting better every day and I’m getting ready for next year at the same time.” 

Vizzina’s strides under offensive coordinator Garrett Riley have been obvious. In his redshirt year, the Birmingham, Ala., native recorded nine snaps with no completed passes. One season later, the 6-foot-4 signal caller completed 19 of his 34 pass attempts over seven games and hurled a deep ball against Florida State that drew a pass interference call.

The Tigers ended up with a touchdown on the possession.

Additionally, Vizzina rushed for 68 yards on 13 attempts and recorded his first rushing touchdown against Appalachian State. 

Since the end of the season, Vizzina has continued to grow in his awareness and understanding of the game. The redshirt sophomore could be seen getting reps with the starters and lacing in touchdown passes during spring practice while wide receivers coach Tyler Grisham screamed in the background.

Vizzina’s improvement was on full display Saturday in Clemson’s annual Orange & White Spring Game as he targeted wide receivers Cole Turner, Bryant Wesco, and Tyler Brown. In his time leading the offense, Vizzina completed 7-of-8 passes for 81 yards. He also added seven rushing yards on three attempts. 

“I thought (Vizzina) was awesome today,” Swinney said after the game. “He made a couple big time throws. He can make the throws. He can run. He’s a big kid e can move, so I think it slowed down for him… I think for him he’s coming out of spring with his confidence really high and that’s exactly what we needed so just got to keep going, just keep moving forward.”

Vizzina and the Tigers have their next chance to move forward and improve as they enlist in summer practice to prepare for the Tigers’ season-opener against LSU on August 30.