Clemson basketball star exits football program before bowl game. Here’s why
A former Clemson basketball star who made headlines by joining the football team this season is no longer with the program ahead of its bowl game.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney announced on Monday that tight end Ian Schieffelin, a former All-ACC forward and four-year player for Clemson men’s basketball who joined the football team in May, is no longer with the Tigers.
Schieffelin later revealed on X (formerly Twitter) that he’d opted out of the Dec. 27 Pinstripe Bowl vs. Penn State in order to “put myself in the best possible position to return to basketball” at a professional level, likely overseas.
Schieffelin thanked Swinney and Clemson football for the opportunity and said he had a “great time” returning to a sport he hadn’t played since early high school.
“It wasn’t an easy decision,” Schieffelin said of opting out.
News of Schieffelin’s absence first broke when Swinney mentioned in a Monday interview that Schieffelin was no longer with the team ahead of the Pinstripe Bowl.
Swinney on Monday said Clemson had 27 scholarship players who wouldn’t participate in the bowl game: 17 who were injured, five who’d entered the transfer portal, four who’d opted out to prepare for the 2026 NFL Draft, and Schieffelin.
“Ian’s out,” Swinney said Monday. “Ian is not with us. He’s done.”
Swinney wouldn’t disclose why Schieffelin was no longer with the team. In limited comments, Swinney indicated that Schieffelin made the decision to leave the team.
“I’ll let him speak for himself,” Swinney said.
Schieffelin did that roughly four hours later with a heartfelt statement posted to X that thanked Clemson football as well as the university and fanbase at large.
“(I) will never regret my decision five years ago to be a Tiger,” he wrote.
Recapping Ian Schieffelin’s 2025 football season
Schieffelin (6-7, 260) appeared in eight of 12 games for Clemson this year and took 20 offensive snaps. He caught two passes for 11 yards and was targeted in the end zone a few other times. He also played on the team’s field goal block unit.
His role with the Tigers (7-5) was minor but drew plenty of attention, considering he was a standout player for Brad Brownell and Clemson basketball. Schieffelin was the ACC’s most improved player as a junior and was an All-ACC first teamer as a senior. He helped Clemson win a program-best 73 games over the last three years.
Schieffelin exhausted his final year of basketball eligibility in 2024-25, but he took advantage of a little-known rule in which an NCAA athlete can play one season in a different sport during their five-year “eligibility clock” to join Clemson football.
Schieffelin had football experience, having played the sport through 10th grade of high school and attending youth camps at Clemson. He was skilled enough to receive some initial recruiting buzz from power-conference teams, including Syracuse.
The tight end’s 2025 season got off to a rough start. Schieffelin was arrested on a suspicion of driving under the influence (DUI) charge in August. He was suspended for Clemson’s season opener and publicly apologized for his mistake. The charge was ultimately dropped, and Schieffelin pled guilty to a lesser charge.
It’s unclear whether Schieffelin will pursue football or basketball professionally. He was not considered an NBA-level prospect coming out of college but could realistically pursue an overseas career.
Swinney also said in November that pro scouts had been “impressed” by Schieffelin. A number of former basketball stars have successfully transitioned to football and had legitimate careers at tight end in the NFL and at lower levels.
“Obviously we’ve got some very seasoned players at that position that are playing at an incredibly high level, so he hasn’t had as much opportunity on gameday,” Swinney said of Schieffelin on Nov. 8. “But he’s building a nice little résumé where he’ll be able to have stuff on film. ... He’s made a ton of progress.”
Schieffelin, in his statement, spoke candidly about how he “took a chance on myself” by switching from basketball to football for one season and how he and Swinney discussed how he could always return to basketball after the season.
He admitted in as many words his football experiment failed but said he enjoyed the opportunity. Schieffelin became the first player to appear in at least one Clemson football and men’s basketball since DeAndre Hopkins in 2009-10.
“It didn’t work out for me the way I wanted,” Schieffelin wrote. “... To be able to get back on the court as soon as possible, I have to begin training and preparing now.”
This story was originally published December 15, 2025 at 2:50 PM.
