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Shelton Lewis no longer with Clemson football, intends to enter transfer portal
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- Shelton Lewis no longer with Clemson football, intends to enter transfer portal
(This story was updated with new information.)
CLEMSON – Backup nickel cornerback Shelton Lewis is no longer with Clemson football , a team spokesperson confirmed to The Greenville News on Oct. 2.
Lewis informed Clemson that he will use this year as a four-game redshirt season and will enter the transfer portal when it opens. He will have two years of eligibility remaining.
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He spent three seasons with the Tigers and appeared in four games in 2025 to record seven tackles and one pass deflection. He worked primarily as Clemson 's nickel cornerback but was the backup to Misun Kelley .
Lewis worked only on special teams in Week 1 vs. LSU , but played in 49 defensive snaps this season with 33 coming in Week 4 against Syracuse when Kelley was out.
Clemson (1-3, 0-2 ACC) will face North Carolina (2-2) on Oct. 4 (noon ET, ESPN) at Kenan Memorial Stadium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina .
Lewis is Clemson's first player to enter the transfer portal in the 2026 cycle. Cornerback Corian Gipson is the third string nickel cornerback on its depth chart.
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If Lewis would have played one more game this season, he would not have been eligible for a redshirt this year and would have only one year of eligibility remaining.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney has advocated for college sports to change to where players have five years to play five seasons to eliminate concerns of players opting out of a season early to preserve their redshirt status.
Derrian Carter covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at dcarter@gannett.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DerrianCarter00
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Clemson football: CB Shelton Lewis no longer with Tigers
