CLEMSON — Dabo Swinney could have a new player on the Clemson football team.

The Clemson Insider confirmed that basketball standout Ian Schieffelin could be lacing up the cleats for the Tigers this fall in Death Valley. TCI was told a plan is in motion to bring Schieffelin into the program.

TCI was told it has not happened, yet, but it likely will happen. Swinney has always praised Schieffelin’s athletic ability and said several times he thought he could play football for the Tigers.

“He could play whatever he wanted to play,” the football coach said.

Swinney feels Schieffelin would make an unbelievable left tackle, however, he knows that position isn’t sexy enough for the ACC’s Most Improved Player in 2024.

“Nobody gets too excited about left tackle. Schieff would probably want to be a (defensive end) or tight end,” Swinney said. “I’d definitely have a spot and we would have a lot of revenue sharing if he wanted to pass up wherever he is going and come over here.”

According to NCAA rules, once a student-athlete has used up their eligibility in one sport, they are free to pursue other sports as long as they still have remaining eligibility within their five-year window. Schieffelin, who lettered four year’s for Brad Brownell’s basketball team, still has one year remaining to pursue football in his five-year window.

Schieffelin has not played football since his high school days at Grayson High School, which is located just outside of Atlanta in Loganville, Ga. He played with former Clemson running back Phil Mafah, who was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys this past Saturday in the NFL Draft.

As for Schieffelin’s collegiate career in basketball, it appears that is done. On April 21, he and fellow teammate Jaeden Zackery entered their names into the transfer portal with hopes of playing next year.

Although they don’t have any eligibility remaining, Schieffelin and Zackery entered the portal in case the NCAA were to grant a fifth year of eligibility. That’s something the NCAA has been considering, pending other litigation.

However, Schieffelin’s camp feels it does not want to put all of its eggs in one basket, which is why he is pursuing the opportunity to play college football for one year.

Schieffelin and Zackery are using the petitions for the 2021 season to be granted as a fifth year of eligibility for all student-athletes. According to our sources, we were told there is no rule stating that a player has to have remaining eligibility to enter the transfer portal.

By entering the transfer portal, which closed on April 22, it extended their window and timeline to explore options for an additional year of eligibility. Due to these loopholes, any graduating four-year senior or JUCO player can use this to extend their eligibility until the ruling has come down.

Schieffelin averaged 12.4 points, 9.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game this past season, and was named to the All-ACC second team.