Clemson escaped the LSU hangover with a 22-7 victory over Georgia Southern, finally putting a win on the board. Yet the Tigers had little reason to celebrate. Just when things appeared to be settling down, bad news struck, leaving Dabo Swinney without the leader of his offense.

Clemson’s quarterback situation took an unexpected turn when Christopher Vizzina’s night ended after just three drives, forcing him to the sideline. At halftime, head coach Dabo Swinney confirmed that his starting quarterback had suffered an injury to his non-throwing arm and would not return to the game.

True freshman Tait Reynolds stepped in and led the Tigers to a 22-7 win over the Eagles. With Vizzina’s status uncertain, Reynolds is now expected to get the start against UNC, according to Clemson insider Matt Zenitz.

After the game, the head coach emphasized that despite the injury, Vizzina wanted to play, but they had to stop him. “We wanted to get him back in there, but his left arm was basically numb,” he said on Saturday night.

According to Pete Nakos, Vizzina’s injury could take one to two weeks to heal, potentially costing him more games as the true freshman continues to take over. Before suffering the injury, Vizzina completed four of seven passes for 19 yards, recording one touchdown and one interception.

In his absence, Reynolds completed 16 of 27 passes for 178 yards while adding 38 yards on 14 carries. Over two games, he has completed 60.6% of his passes for 200 yards and rushed for 29 yards on 19 attempts. He is yet to record a touchdown or commit a turnover.

“There are mistakes that we all made, and personally I made a lot,” Reynolds said of his most extensive playing time since his junior year of high school. “But at the end of the day, you can grow from it and get better from it. … But it is what it is, and we got the win.”

While Reynolds certainly earned Dabo Swinney’s approval, the head coach will still need his senior quarterback to return for the critical ACC schedule. For now, however, Swinney does not know when Vizzina will be back.

“We’ll see. Hopefully it’s nothing bad,” he said. “We will need both of those guys, but Tait showed some promise. I wish he didn’t make some of the mistakes he did, but he’ll learn.”

That said, both QBs have been under fire following their performances against LSU in the Week 1 game, but despite the criticism, their LB has a message for them.

Christopher Vizzina and Tait Reynolds get support from their linebacker

Clemson’s season opener turned into a nightmare after the Tigers’ first drive of the game. LSU started the game with an interception, which Clemson turned into a field goal. From there on, it was a thrashing, as Dabo Swinney’s team couldn’t register another point on the board until late in the 4th quarter.

The lopsided defeat put both Christopher Vizzina and Tait Reynolds under the microscope, but linebacker Sammy Brown had a message for the two quarterbacks afterward.

“So, I think that’s kind of the message we need to say to [Vizzina and Reynolds] — ‘you can’t let this defeat you and define you; you need to let it develop you.’ And I think they will. I think both of those guys are very, very mentally strong and they’ll be able to do it,” said Brown, per WYFF News 4’s Chase Justice.

After the loss against LSU, Clemson finally seemed to be settling into a rhythm against Georgia Southern. But just as things started looking positive, bad news continued to follow them. With the UNC threat looming large, all hopes now rest on Tait Reynolds.

The Tigers will be back in action next Saturday against North Carolina to open ACC play inside Memorial Stadium. Bill Belichick’s Tar Heels have started the season with 2-0 despite the uncertainty surrounding its management. In Week 2, UNC made light work of East Tennessee State in a dominating 35-3 win.