Clemson Safety Enters Transfer Portal

Clemson Tigers safety Rob Billings entered the transfer portal on Wednesday night, being first reported by On3’s Steve Wiltfong.

NEW: Clemson safety Rob Billings plans to enter the NCAA transfer portal, @SWiltfong_ reports. https://t.co/kSYG7dZ8sR pic.twitter.com/DdCMe7C84M
— Transfer Portal (@TransferPortal) January 1, 2026

Billings becomes the sixth Tiger to enter the transfer portal ahead of the Jan. 2 open date, looking for a new opportunity elsewhere. He spent three seasons at Clemson at the safety position.

The Marietta, Georgia, native is the fifth player to enter the transfer portal on defense.

The reason for the move is strictly because Billings did not get much playing time at Clemson over his collegiate career. He featured in 32 games with the Tigers, mainly as a defensive reserve and special teams, making four tackles over the 2025 season.

2024 was his biggest year with the team, making five tackles while playing all 14 games with the team. With the arrival of defensive coordinator Tom Allen last offseason, Billings couldn’t become the starter in the safeties room, which led to his departure.

Especially with the departure of R.J. Mickens last offseason, who went to the NFL Draft, there was an opportunity for an open starting safety spot at the position. That would be won by Ricardo Jones in the offseason, and Billings would remain a reserve and a special teams plater.

Out of high school, Billings was a three-star recruit, according to 247Sports, being the No. 48 safety out of the Class of 2023. He chose the Tigers over Florida State, Georgia Tech and Kentucky.

Going forward, Clemson will continue to need to look for safety depth in the transfer portal with the departure of Billings. Khalil Barnes has also left the team, and Tyler Venables is out of eligibility, meaning the room will be slim going into the transfer portal, which opens on Jan. 2.

Especially with the flip of recruit Kaden Gebhardt, who flipped from Clemson to Ohio State on National Signing Day, that will be one of the most important positions to fill for Allen’s group going into the offseason.

Jones, Ronan Hanafin, Kylon Griffin and Noah Dixon will help lead the room, and true freshman Polo Anderson will join the team, but head coach Dabo Swinney will be looking for more depth to instill competition within the group.

Wherever Billings goes next, he is expected to have two more seasons of eligibility elsewhere.

Clemson Tigers on SI will continue to provide coverage of every player in the transfer portal through our portal tracker.