On Friday, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney addressed linebacker Luke Ferrelli‘s decision to flip his transfer commitment from Clemson to Ole Miss. In the sprawling 19-minute statement, Swinney accused Ole Miss of committing tampering. After Swinney was done speaking, Clemson athletic director Graham Neff backed the head coach’s allegations.
“As Coach said, the violation has been reported to the NCAA. Process is commenced immediately. We’ll certainly cooperate with the investigation,” Neff said. “This is focused on tampering for the time being. But, as Coach said, it’s about much more than that, and that’s really where I’m going to take a lot of my remarks here. The NCAA, quite frankly, was surprised a school’s willing to come forward as directly and transparently as we have.
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“… We’re we’re very eager and resolute to do so, to support them in the process and the accountability and the termination of the rules, and go from there. While we are exploring other potential legal options related to this tampering, not going to get into those details at this point.”
Ferrelli committed to Clemson on Jan. 6 via the transfer portal after spending his freshman and redshirt freshman season at California. Ferrelli was a star for the Golden Bears and was named the 2025 ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year.
However, just 16 days after committing to Clemson, Ferrelli re-entered the transfer portal and committed to Ole Miss. Swinney detailed a timeline of discussion between Ferrelli and Ole Miss, while Ferrelli was signed with Clemson.
Swinney claimed Ole Miss head coach Pete Golding texted Ferrelli, “I know you’re signed, but what is your buyout?” Additionally, Swinney said Ole Miss sent Ferrelli a photo of an apparent $1 million, one-year contract offer.
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Luke Ferrelli allegedly informed Clemson he entered to stay with the program. Swinney said Ole Miss raised its offer to $2 million over two years and Ferrelli ultimately committed to Ole Miss.
Clemson intends to pursue action against Ole Miss. Graham Neff believes this decision is not only important for Clemson, but the college football landscape as a whole.
“It’s much bigger than our athletics department or the university,” Neff said. “A lot of my colleagues across the country have started to say we’re at a critical juncture of college athletics. Have sort of come forward more and more with a voice and perspective and platform of that, and want to really encourage and extend that here today. The system does not work without rules and the enforceability of those rules.
“Today, we’re not merely an aggrieved party. … It’s easy to point fingers. It’s easy to lecture others about doing things the right way and playing by the rules, and then move on to the next competitive pressure. There’s a lot of those. There’s a lot of those in college sports, but what it’s hard to do is roll up your sleeves, act in a way that’s consistent with your values and your ethics.”
