Clemson tight end Ian Schieffelin has opted out of the Pinstripe Bowl, confirming he will shift his focus back to basketball, a decision he said was discussed with head coach Dabo Swinney before the season.
Swinney first acknowledged Schieffelin’s absence during Clemson’s bowl media availability in New York, offering limited detail at the time.
“Ian is not with us. He’s done…Technically, he’s on scholarship,” Swinney said. When asked if the decision was Schieffelin’s, Swinney added, “I’ll let him speak for himself.”
Schieffelin did so in a statement posted to X, explaining that his return to football after spending the previous four years focused on basketball ultimately did not unfold as he hoped.
“It didn’t work out for me the way I wanted, and that’s something Coach Swinney and I talked about before the season…that if this ended up not being what I wanted I could always go back to playing basketball,” Schieffelin wrote.
— Ian Schieffelin (@ian_schieffelin) December 15, 2025
The senior said opting out of the bowl game allows him to begin training immediately in preparation for returning to the court.
“With that said, I have opted out of the Bowl Game in order to put myself in the best possible position to return to basketball,” he wrote. “It wasn’t an easy decision, but to be able to get back on the court as soon as possible I have to begin training and preparing now.”
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Clemson will face Penn State in the Pinstripe Bowl on Dec. 27th at noon ET at Yankee Stadium, as the Tigers look to close the season with an eighth win in New York.
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