It’s not a joke anymore—Clemson basketball standout Ian Schieffelin really is joining the football team.
After four years of bruising opponents on the hardwood, Schieffelin is headed to the gridiron set to play tight end as part of Dabo Swinney's squad in 2025.
Schieffelin has been a core part of the Tigers' basketball success over the past two seasons, averaging 12.4 points and 9.4 rebounds per game as a senior. He brought toughness, hustle, and sneaky good vision to the court—tools that might just translate better to football than many people realize. And while fans may have chuckled when Dabo Swinney teased last fall about stealing Schieffelin for the football team, apparently he wasn’t kidding.
Now, with Schieffelin reportedly staying in Tigertown, the football team has a new (and very large) toy to play with.
Could Schieffelin be a contributor on the Clemson football team?
Let’s get the obvious out of the way: Ian Schieffelin isn’t walking in and stealing snaps from Olsen Patt-Henry, Josh Sapp, or redshirt freshman Christian Bentancur. He hasn’t played competitive football since his sophomore year of high school. But still, he’s 6-foot-8, 240 pounds, has great hands, moves well, and was a quarterback back in high school.
Swinney even said last fall, "When he’s done with basketball I’m gonna get him out here at D-end, tight end. That’s a football player." And while he was smiling when he said it, apparently he meant every word.
Schieffelin has always had a football background—he played both quarterback and tight end at Grayson High School in Georgia. At one point, he was getting real Power Four interest in football before choosing to stick with basketball. Clearly, some coaches thought he had the frame and skill set to be special. Heck, even a Syracuse coach reportedly once told him it would be “the dumbest decision he’d ever make” to pick hoops over football.
Now that he’s giving football another shot, it’s fair to wonder how Clemson could use him. He’s probably not going to climb the tight end depth chart and become a go-to option, but if there’s one coach who knows how to craft a situational package for a guy like this, it’s Dabo. Think about it: goal-line fades, jumbo formations, maybe a red zone trick play where Schieffelin is the eligible receiver, or even a passer. A lot of teams dream of having a 6-foot-8 mismatch near the end zone—Clemson just happened to find one in the basketball gym.
Ultimately, this feels like a no-risk, high-reward move. Schieffelin isn’t taking up a crucial scholarship or pushing a tight end out of a spot, and it feels like a fun story for Clemson.
That being said, if he actually makes it through fall camp and is still on the roster by the time the season starts, I have one prediction for you: Schieffelin will absolutely score a touchdown in Death Valley this fall.