Clemson football coach Dabo Sweeney denounced Ole Miss coach Pete Golding for allegedly direct tampering with a Tigers player, calling for changes to the current system of college football transfers which he said is “a really sad state of affairs.”
Swinney’s comments came during an hour-long press conference Friday in which he discussed a complaint Clemson filed with the NCAA alleging Golding committed “blatant” and “straightforward” tampering. It came after alleged attempts to lure Clemson’s Luke Ferrelli to Ole Miss after the linebacker had already agreed to a revenue-sharing contract with the Tigers, enrolled in and attended classes, started offseason workouts on campus, rented an apartment and bought a car.
“This is a whole other level of tampering,” Swinney said of the communications between Golding, Ole Miss and Ferrelli. “It’s total hypocrisy. … We have a broken system, and if there are no consequences for tampering, then we have no rules and we have no governance.”
After showing star potential as a freshman at Cal, Ferrelli entered the transfer portal in January and was courted by Clemson and Ole Miss, with Ferrelli signing a contract with Clemson on Jan. 7.
Swinney alleges that Clemson general manager Jordan Sorrells was alerted by Ferrelli’s agent that starting Jan. 14, Ferrelli began receiving communications from Ole Miss to switch allegiances. Those communications allegedly included phone calls from Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and former Ole Miss and current New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart.
Swinney said that at his request, Sorrells reached out to Ole Miss general manager Austin Thomas to cease communications with Ferrelli.
On Jan. 15, Ferrelli started the day assuring Clemson he was staying put but by the end of the day he requested to enter the portal to transfer to Ole Miss.
Swinney filed a complaint with the NCAA on Jan. 16 alleging “blatant” and “straightforward” tampering by Ole Miss. Clemson athletic director Graham Neff said if no resolution is reached by the NCAA, the school will consider further legal action.
“I’m not trying to get anybody fired, but when is enough enough?” Swinney said. “If we have rules, and tampering is a rule, then there should be a consequence for that. And shame on the adults if we’re not going to hold each other accountable.”
The Ferrelli situation is one of several high-profile controversies surrounding the transfer portal. Duke quarterback Darian Mensah is being sued by the school for breach of contract for his attempts to enter the transfer portal for a potential spot at Miami after agreeing to play for the Blue Devils. Quarterback Demond Williams Jr. attempted to back out of a contract with Washington before ultimately returning to the Huskies.
Swinney shared numerous ideas for improving the landscape of college football, including a better revenue-sharing system that would withhold a percentage of money earned until graduation or turning 25 as an attempt to prevent long-term financial problems for players. He even suggested collective bargaining as a better alternative to the current system.
“If we don’t act about these current transfer rules, we’re going to look up in five or six years and see a mass of players without degrees who’ll have spent their short-term money. We’re going to have a bunch of screwed-up 30-year-olds,” Swinney said. “I believe college football is set up to reward the 2% that have a chance to make it to the NFL. As adults, we should know better and do better for the 98 percent of college football players who won’t play in the NFL.”
Swinney also suggested moving the portal window to the spring and limiting free transfers to one per player unless a head coach leaves or the player graduates.
