Clemson basketball’s Ian Schieffelin considering move to football team
Update: Schieffelin has formally joined the football team as of Friday, May 2.
One of Clemson’s most popular basketball players might be switching sports.
Former Tigers forward Ian Schieffelin is considering joining coach Dabo Swinney’s football team and playing as a tight end this season, a team source told The State.
TI’s Larry Williams first reported on Wednesday that Schieffelin (who played football up until his sophomore year of high school) plans on joining the Clemson football team ahead of the 2025 season, although the move hasn’t been finalized.
A team source said Schieffelin hasn’t made a formal decision on whether or not to pursue a football opportunity. But all indications are that he’ll trade his basketball shoes at Littlejohn Coliseum for a pair of cleats at Memorial Stadium.
Tigernet.com, The Clemson Insider and Clemson247 also confirmed the news.
Schieffelin has changed his profile picture on X/Twitter from a photo of him in a Clemson basketball jersey to an old photo of him in his Grayson (Ga.) High School football helmet and jersey. That change was made in the past week.
Schieffelin removed that photo later on Wednesday afternoon.
Schieffelin (6-foot-8, 240 pounds) played four seasons for Brad Brownell and the Clemson men’s basketball team and was named second team All-ACC this season after averaging 12.4 points and 9.4 rebounds per game for the Tigers.
He’s currently in the NCAA basketball transfer portal, which allows him to preserve his options for a potential fifth year of eligibility. The NCAA is facing a number of eligibility-related lawsuits and could shift to five years of eligibility for all athletes.
But Schieffelin already has the option of taking a fifth year of eligibility if he competes in another sport at Clemson such as football, per reports.
There’s also precedent for college basketball players to play four seasons and then switch to football: A former Tigers player did it, as did former Duke basketball player and Syracuse quarterback Greg Paulus.
Swinney has raved about Schieffelin’s football potential over the past few seasons, joking at one point in 2023: “When he’s done with basketball I’m gonna get him out here at D-end, tight end. That’s a football player.”
“I’ll definitely have a spot” for Schieffelin, Swinney added last fall with a grin.
Schieffelin played quarterback and tight end through his 10th grade year at Grayson, he told The State last fall. He was talented enough to generate some baseline recruiting interest from Clemson and other power conference schools.
“I remember one of the Syracuse football coaches told me it would be the dumbest decision I’d ever make — going to basketball instead of playing football — because there’s only one LeBron,” he said last fall. “Obviously, I didn’t listen to him.
Schieffelin also said he was confident he could “play some tight end” in college.
“I actually have pretty good hands,” he said. “I think I’d be all right.”
How would Ian Schieffelin fit in on the football team?
Clemson’s football team lost Jake Briningstool, one of the most productive tight ends in school history, to the NFL this year. The Tigers currently have seven tight ends and five scholarship tight ends listed on their 2025 roster.
The top starting options in the group are junior Olsen Patt-Henry (nine catches for 123 yards and three TDs last year) and redshirt junior Josh Sapp (28 career games).
It’s worth noting one of Clemson’s scholarship tight ends, redshirt sophomore Markus Dixon, is weighing a position change to defensive end. Dixon was spotted working with the team’s DE group during media viewing portions of spring practice.
Dixon moving positions would theoretically open up a spot for another scholarship or walk-on tight end acquisition. Along with Patt-Henry and Sapp, Clemson has redshirt freshman Christian Bentancur and true freshman Logan Brooking on scholarship and two walk-ons including redshirt senior Banks Pope.
At 6-foot-8, Schieffelin would become the tallest player on the roster. That title is currently shared by 6-foot-7 DE Darien Mayo and OL Brayden Jacobs.
History of Clemson football players playing other sports
Clemson has a solid history of multi-sport football athletes, dating back to Banks McFadden. McFadden played football, basketball and track at the school from 1936-40 and was named All America in both basketball and football.
In the 1980s, Clemson Hall of Famer Mike Eppley was the football team’s starting quarterback and the basketball team’s starting point guard.
There have been a number of modern-era examples, too. Under Swinney, the Tigers have had a handful of football-baseball crossovers (Kyle Parker, DJ Reader, Will Taylor) and football-track crossovers (CJ Spiller, Jacoby Ford).
But the only prominent football-basketball crossover was DeAndre Hopkins, who appeared in seven basketball games after his 2010 freshman football season ended before becoming one of the best wide receivers in school history.
Former Clemson basketball guard Rod Hall also played one year of football at Northern Iowa in 2015 after playing four years of basketball with the Tigers.
This story was originally published April 30, 2025 at 12:50 PM.
