Starting defensive tackle transferring away from Clemson football team
Clemson football has its second major portal loss.
Redshirt sophomore defensive tackle Stephiylan Green is transferring away from Clemson, according to reports by On3 Sports and other outlets. The news of Green’s departure hit roughly an hour after the portal opened at midnight Tuesday.
Green (6-4, 290) emerged as a legit rotation player at defensive tackle for Clemson in 2024 and was one of the team’s top three DTs in 2025, alongside NFL Draft-bound junior Peter Woods and DeMonte Capehart.
Green appeared in 10 games, started six and had 18 total tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks and a pass breakup. He missed Clemson’s Dec. 27 Pinstripe Bowl loss to Penn State due to injury but would’ve started in that game as well.
A former four-star recruit and top 150 prospect from Georgia, Green is one of two major portal losses for Clemson and Dabo Swinney. The other is rising senior safety Khalil Barnes, who was a freshman All-American and three-year starter.
Green will have two years of eligibility remaining at his next school.
Two more Clemson D-linemen hit portal
Late Monday night, Clemson backup defensive line Caden Story also announced he planned to enter the portal. Story appeared in five games in 2025 and played minimally, though he did make an impact with five tackles and a half sack in the Pinstripe Bowl with the Tigers down multiple starting linemen.
Backup defensive end Markus Dixon also hit the portal Tuesday.
Story (6-3, 275) appeared in 24 games across four years with the Tigers. The former four-star recruit will have one year of eligibility remaining in 2026.
Dixon (6-4, 265) moved from tight end to defensive end during 2025 spring practice but played just 13 snaps on defense this season. He’d previously played 29 offensive snaps over two years and did not catch a pass.
Green, Story and Dixon are Clemson’s first three transfer portal departures at defensive line. The Tigers and Swinney now have nine offseason transfers in the January portal window and 11 total transfers from scholarship players.
How the NCAA transfer portal works in 2025-26
The NCAA transfer portal window runs for 15 days from Jan. 2-16, 2026. Players cannot formally enter their name into the transfer portal until Jan. 2, although hundreds will declare their intent to enter the portal earlier than that date.
Once they are formally in the portal, player can commit to a school at any point. There is no spring transfer portal window, as the NCAA abolished it last fall.
Clemson football 2025 transfers
- ATH Marquise Henderson (offseason, dismissed from team)
- DB Shelton Lewis (mid-season)
- LB Dee Crayton
- RB Keith Adams Jr.
- S Khalil Barnes
- LB Jamal Anderson
- S Rob Billings
- TE Josh Sapp
- DE Caden Story
- DT Stephiylan Green
- DE Markus Dixon
This story was originally published January 2, 2026 at 8:51 AM.
