Head coach Dabo Swinney officially named CV the team’s starting quarterback during his Tuesday press conference, settling the position battle heading into game week.
“You know, I know everybody’s going to be talking about the quarterback, and CV will start for us this week,” Swinney said. “He’s earned that.”
Evaluation Process and Spring Development
Swinney detailed the structured evaluation process managed by staff members Chad and Taj, outlining how the competition evolved from spring practice through fall camp among a group that included Denson, Trent, Brock, and Tate.
“It’s been a. I think Chad and Taj have done a really great job of, you know, navigating the whole process. It’s been a competition,” Swinney said. “I mean, you know, it’s it’s CV really didn’t have much competition in the spring because you know he was kind of clearly you know ahead and everything, and then you had four quarterbacks that were trying to sort through. We had Denson, we had Trent, we had Brock, and we had Tait, and we kind of had to see how that you know Tait by the end of spring had really separated from that group, and so that gave us some clarity. With, okay, now we know. Let’s see. Let’s see what we got here. I thought Tait made a big jump at the end of spring, that last week, as he got all those two reps, and then I think it just carried on. And it’s been a lot of fun. And I mean, they’ve had a very detailed process on how they’ve gone through it. Every practice, every rep, every throw, everything has been graded to the nth degree. And CV’s just a little hit.”
Swinney noted that while the margin between the passers was narrow, daily consistency in practice remained the deciding factor.
“He’s not a mile ahead, but he’s the hit, and you know practice matters,” Swinney said. “So there was a time where I really thought Tait had a chance to take the job, and and then he had you know a couple disastrous days, and and just looked like a freshman, but you know and then but to CV’s credit, man, CV has just been credibly steady.”
“I mean, he’s just been very, very steady. He’s just put his head down and gone to work, and you know, he came out ahead to this point,” Swinney added. “That’s in this. We can’t go any further.”
Transitioning Practice to Game Action
Addressing the limits of internal evaluation, Swinney highlighted the unique challenge college football faces without preseason exhibition games to evaluate players under live conditions.
“You know, there’s a reason why people have preseason games at every level of football except college football. Still waiting on somebody to explain it,” Swinney said. “I’m talking about from the 95-pound team to the NFL. There’s preseason games, so you can go play, and you know not have all 22 of your guys, you know the same on your team, and you know sorts because there’s just certain things that need to happen that certain attributes, there’s just certain things that can don’t really show up until game day, especially at this at that position, and so we’re as far as we can go. And CV has won the job, but I can’t give him a lifetime contract. You know, he’s got to go do it. People say, “What do you need to see? Why go win some games?”
“Go play well. I mean, it’s incomplicated,” Swinney said. “That’s just where you are, and I say I’ll say this about Tait because CV again has been incredibly steady.”
“Really has done a lot of great things and has performed well and has kept the job,” Swinney added.
Ongoing Competition and Team Outlook
Swinney commended true freshman Tait while reinforcing that game-day execution will dictate the long-term direction of the position.
“He had the pole position, and Tait kind of closed the gap, and CV kind of separated again, but I got to get I got to give Tait a ton of credit. This kid is a true freshman walking in here. He is really super talented, you know. But can’t just be talented, you know. And he ain’t going away. I mean, I think he’s going to continue to compete. I’m not going to guarantee that he’s going to play, but I would say it’s probably likely, you know, because we have to continue the competition and go from there. So, you know, the players all believe in both of these guys. The good news for us is I think both of them can win for Clinton, and you know that’s about as honest and as truthful as I can be with you. That’s just where we are, and so look forward to watching those guys compete and battle it out,” Swinney said.
