SEC defensive lineman picks Clemson football out of transfer portal
An SEC defensive lineman is joining Clemson as a transfer.
Former Oklahoma defensive tackle Markus Strong committed to coach Dabo Swinney and the Tigers late Wednesday night, he told On3 Sports. Strong will have two years of eligibility remaining starting in 2026.
Strong (6-3, 297) played a backup role for a Sooners team led by former Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables that went 10-3 and reached the College Football Playoff. He appeared in 10 games and had seven total tackles, two tackles for loss, one sack and one safety forced against South Carolina.
He had two tackles for loss (both sacks) in 2024 and was listed as a third-string defensive tackle on OU’s final depth chart of the 2025 season.
Strong’s 10 games were a career high for the former three-star recruit from Florida, who originally joined Venables and OU out of high school in 2023. On3 Sports ranked him as the No. 124 defensive lineman available in the portal.
He joins Kourtney Kelly (6-3, 281) as defensive line commits for a Clemson team that is losing its top three DTs from last year to the NFL Draft or the portal.
All seven of Clemson’s 2026 portal commits to date have come on defense.
Clemson football 2025-26 transfer portal
Transfers in (7)
- Penn State DB Elliot Washington II
- Cal LB Luke Ferrelli
- Old Dominion DB Jerome Carter III
- Auburn DB Donovan Starr
- Southern Miss DB Corey Myrick
- West Georgia DT Kourtney Kelly
- Oklahoma DT Markus Strong
Transfers out (14)
- ATH Marquise Henderson (Samford)
- DB Shelton Lewis (Arkansas)
- LB Dee Crayton
- RB Keith Adams Jr.
- S Khalil Barnes (Georgia)
- LB Jamal Anderson
- S Rob Billings
- TE Josh Sapp
- DE Caden Story
- DT Stephiylan Green (LSU)
- DE Markus Dixon
- S Ricardo Jones
- DT Champ Thompson
- OL Rowan Byrne
This story was originally published January 8, 2026 at 9:10 AM with the headline "SEC defensive lineman picks Clemson football out of transfer portal."
