Clemson tampering allegations, explained: Why NCAA is investigating Ole Miss after Dabo Swinney comments

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney levied heavy accusations toward Ole Miss and head coach Pete Golding last week.

During a press conference on Friday, Jan. 23, Swinney told reporters that the Rebels’ coaching staff recruited linebacker Luke Ferrelli into the transfer portal after he had transferred to Clemson.

Ferrelli entered the transfer portal in late December and committed to Clemson on Jan. 6. The former Cal Bear ultimately entered the portal again and transferred to Ole Miss a few weeks later.

Now, the NCAA is reportedly looking into the claims made by Swinney.

Here’s everything you need to know about Swinney and his comments regarding Ole Miss, head coach Pete Golding and Ferrelli.

MORE: How long has Dabo Swinney been at Clemson?

Ole Miss tampering allegations

Ferrelli signed with Cal in December 2023 and spent the last two seasons with the Bears. The redshirt freshman had a breakout season in 2025, finishing with 91 total tackles, along with a sack and an interception.

Ferrelli entered the transfer portal on Dec. 31, 2025. Just a day later, he committed to Clemson on Jan. 1, 2026. He remained with the Tigers until Jan. 21, when he re-entered the portal and transferred to Ole Miss on Jan. 22. On Friday, Swinney called what happened with Ferrelli a “straightforward case of tampering” and leveled a wide range of criticism at the current state of recruiting and the transfer portal.

"This is a whole other level of tampering," Swinney said via ESPN of Golding and Ole Miss' communications with Ferrelli. "It's total hypocrisy. ... This is a really sad state of affairs. We have a broken system, and if there are no consequences for tampering, then we have no rules and we have no governance."

According to a timeline of events laid out by Swinney, Ole Miss was contacting Ferrell well after he was enrolled in classes at Clemson. He also alleges that Golding told him that he knew he was enrolled at Clemson but asked him what his buyout might be, with a picture of a $1 million contract. 

On Jan. 7, Ferrelli signed a financial aid agreement with Clemson, and he moved to Clemson on Jan. 11. Summed up via the Greenville Online, a number of events then occurred between Ferrelli's agent, Ryan Williams, and Clemson general manager Jordan Sorrells: 

Jan. 14: Williams calls Sorrells, expressing Ole Miss is coming after Ferrelli "hard," but assures the Clemson general manager that the linebacker had "no intention" in leaving Clemson and wanted to keep the Tigers in a loop

Jan. 16: Ferrelli called Bouleware to inform him that Ole Miss had reached out again and upped their offer for the linebacker. Bouleware told Sorrells that Ole Miss raised its offer to two years, $2 million and told Ferrelli to visit Sorrells and Swinney to let them know about i

Jan. 15: Sorrells informs Swinney of the conversation with Ferrelli's agent. Swinney asked Sorrells to reach out to Ole Miss general manager Thomas Austin, who he knows, and inform them, "We know what's going on, and if he doesn't cease communication, I'm going to turn him in" via text. Austin called Sorrells and expressed that their relationship is more important than landing Ferrelli, but "Pete Golding just does what he does."  

Here is part of Swinney's presser: ​​

What did Dabo Swinney say about Ole Miss?

Pete Golding has been the head coach at Ole Miss for a couple of months. He was hired as Lane Kiffin's full-time replacement after the coach accepted the LSU job in early December. He helped lead Ole Miss to a 2-0 CFP run, with wins over Tulane and Georgia. 

According to Swinney, Ole Miss coaches said other schools tamper too when confronted with the tampering violations. He added that while he doesn't want anyone to lose their job, he wants to make sure everyone is playing by the same rules. 

NCAA investigation into Ole Miss

In a statement to The Athletic on Jan. 27, an NCAA spokesperson confirmed to the outlet that it is "involved in the matter." The NCAA added that officials have been in contact with Clemson about Swinney's comments.  

"I'm gonna let the NCAA handle this, and I'm gonna let them do their job," Swinney said at his presser. "I'll say this, this shouldn't be a three-year or three-month investigation. This might take three days. They're either going to tell the truth or they're gonna lie."

Clemson submitted an official complaint to the NCAA of Ole Miss' actions on Jan. 16. 

Here is how the NCAA's rulebook defines tampering, via NCAA bylaw 13.1.1.4. Here's what the full rule says:

"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 nonscholastic coach, advisor), directly or indirectly, without first obtaining authorization through the notification of transfer process. 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."

Ole Miss has yet to respond to the allegations. The Rebels signed the nation's No. 2 overall transfer portal class per 247Sports, right behind Lane Kiffin's top-ranked LSU class.