Dabo Swinney set the scene, delivered the facts and even revealed documented timestamps highlighting Ole Miss coach Pete Golding’s efforts to swipe Clemson transfer portal signee Luke Ferrelli this week. After initially signing with the Tigers, Ferrelli re-entered the transfer portal and committed to Ole Miss on Thursday.
The NCAA’s pending decision, following written validation from the Tigers, could set off a chain reaction of tampering disclosures across college football, where rampant tampering is assumed, but left mostly up to interpretation in the NIL and transfer portal era.
Rules enforcement is supposed to be top priority for the NCAA.
“We have a broken system, and if there are no consequences for tampering, then we have no rules and we have no governance,” Swinney said Friday.
Swinney said he had previously warned the Rebels that he would blow the whistle on what he considered under-the-table recruiting if Golding and Ole Miss failed to back off the former California linebacker, who signed with Clemson on Jan. 7 and moved from the West Coast to South Carolina four days later.
Ferrelli was the ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2025, leading all first-year players in solo tackles (87).
“The GM (Ole Miss’ Austin Thomas) assured (Clemson GM) Jordan (Sorrells) that he had communicated to the agent that he wanted no part of this and that his relationship with Jordan was more important to him than Luke Ferrelli, but that ‘Pete Golding just does what he does,'” Swinney said.
Swinney said he spoke with his athletic director, Graham Neff and ACC commissioner Jim Phillips and NCAA compliance about the situation with a formal complaint. He said the SEC commissioner, Greg Sankey, was also looped in.
Swinney alleged that Golding texted Ferrelli a photo of a “$1 million contract” and asked about his buyout at Clemson.
“The NCAA will investigate any credible allegations of tampering and expect full cooperation from all involved as is required by NCAA rules,” NCAA Vice President of enforcement Jon Duncan said in a statement Friday to On3. “We will not comment further on any ongoing investigation.”
Ironically, it was Golding and Ole Miss who were concerned over tampering during the College Football Playoff with fear former Rebels coach Lane Kiffin was targeting players to join him at LSU. Numerous Ole Miss players left for LSU even after reportedly signing rev-share contracts, including pass-rusher Princewill Umanmielen; Rebels247 says Ole Miss is getting a collective $1 million in buyout money paid back because Umanmielen and offensive lineman Devin Harper reneged on their executable contracts.
Duke sued former quarterback Darian Mensah this week in the wake of his last-minute portal request with intentions to sign with Miami. In a 44-page document filed Tuesday morning, Duke argues that Mensah broke his contractual agreement with the Blue Devils should not be allowed to enter the portal so the two sides can enter and engage in arbitration the two sides agreed within the terms of the deal to settle disputes.
The NCAA placed Michigan State on three years probation and vacated 14 wins in November following violations committed by former staff members during Mel Tucker’s tenure. The NCAA found that Tucker and his former staff failed to properly oversee the program, resulting in violations involving three ineligible players. Investigators determined that staff arranged impermissible recruiting inducements and benefits, covered unofficial visit expenses and engaged in improper contact with recruits.
In June 2025, Wisconsin sued Miami for alleged tampering with former player Xavier Lucas, who signed with the Hurricanes during the winter transfer portal cycle last year. According to legal documents, the Badgers accused Miami of poaching Lucas away from their roster ahead of the 2025 season and reaching out to the player despite his contract situation in the Big Ten.
These are only three of many examples in college football’s new era of no-holds-barred recruiting in the portal.
Potential punishment for Ole Miss
According to NCAA bylaw 13.1.1.4, tampering is against the rules and falls under the category of reaching out to players on opposing teams.
“An athletics staff member or other representative of the institution’s athletics interests shall not communicate or make contact with the student-athlete of another NCAA Division I institution, or any individual associated with the student-athlete (e.g., family member, scholastic or non-scholastic coach, advisor), directly or indirectly, without first obtaining authorization through the notification of transfer process,” the rulebook states. “Before making contact, directly or indirectly, with a student-athlete of an NCAA Division II or Division III institution, or an NAIA four-year collegiate institution, an athletics staff member or other representative of the institution’s athletics interests shall comply with the rule of the applicable division or the NAIA rule for making contact with a student-athlete.”
If the NCAA finds the Rebels guilty of contacting Ferrelli while he was enrolled at Clemson, that would likely result in a Level II recruiting violation for Ole Miss, per NCAA rules. If it’s discovered that Ferrelli was offered money to leave the Tigers for the Rebels, as Swinney says he has proof, there’s a chance Ole Miss could get hit with a more severe Level I violation.
Under a Level I designation relating to illegal benefits, NCAA rules determine that as a “cash payment or other benefits provided by a coach, administrator or representative of the institution’s athletics interests intended to secure, or which resulted in, enrollment of a prospective student-athlete.”
Furthermore, a Level I reprimand within recruiting is defined by “third-party involvement in recruiting violations in which institutional staff members knew or should have known about the involvement.”
Ole Miss currently holds the No. 2 transfer portal class in the country, per 247Sports. That includes the arrival of former Auburn quarterback Deuce Knight, former LSU offensive tackle Carius Curne and ex-Oregon edge Blake Purchase.
The only team, right now, with a better collection of talent in its portal group is LSU.
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