Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney is accusing Mississippi of engaging in some foul play.
During a press conference on Friday, Swinney lambasted Ole Miss head coach Pete Golding for allegedly recruiting tampering with a former member of the Tigers’ transfer class.
Swinney called out Golding and Ole Miss general manager Austin Thomas for contacting linebacker Luke Ferrelli, who was originally headed to Clemson but flipped to Ole Miss before the transfer period concluded earlier this month.
The Clemson bench boss called it “blatant tampering.”
The two-time national championship head coach told reporters that “I know you’re signed, what’s the buyout?” was the text Ferrelli received from Golding during an 8 a.m. class he was taking at Clemson.
Swinney also said Ferrelli showed Clemson a photo of a $1 million check from Golding and had received calls from both current Rebels QB Trinidad Chambliss and former Ole Miss signal-caller Jaxson Dart.
Ferrelli also allegedly told Swinney that Golding was on the call with Chambliss and was attempting to “push him to re-enter the transfer portal.”
Swinney mentioned that he had turned in evidence of Mississippi’s communication with the linebacker into the NCAA on Jan. 16, while also reporting the incident to ACC commissioner Jim Phillips.
“If you tamper with my players, I’m going to turn you in,” Swinney said.
Clemson athletic director Graham Neff also said that the school will be “exploring” legal options, according to Greenville News.
After his initial commitment to Clemson, Ferrelli ultimately chose the Rebels on Thursday after reentering the portal on Jan. 16, the final day that players could do so unless they were playing in the College Football Playoff national championship.
“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.
If Ole Miss did indeed contact Ferrelli while he was enrolled at Clemson, the program could receive a Level II violation, according to the NCAA manual.
That punishment could get increased if money was involved to sway Ferrelli away from the Tigers.
According to NCAA bylaw 13.1.1.4, teams are prohibited from communicating with an athlete from another school without permission of the “authorization through the notification of transfer process.”
Before his original transfer to Clemson, Ferrelli played his freshman season with California, where he was named the ACC defensive rookie of the year for 2025.
With the Golden Bears, Ferrelli logged 91 tackles — including five for loss — along with a sack and an interception through 13 games played.
