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Luke Ferrelli is headed to Ole Miss after a brief stay at Clemson. Details about the transfer’s move are now coming to light.
Dabo Swinney accused the Rebels of tampering after Ferrelli signed onto play for the Tigers. The head coach was most critical of the linebacker’s agent.
Ferrelli wrapped up his redshirt freshman season at Cal with Defensive Rookie of the Year honors in the ACC. He opted to test the transfer market soon thereafter.
The Bears fired their coach. Ferrelli’s stock was trending upward. The timing made sense.
He quickly landed interest from Clemson which turned into a commitment in the January portal window. Not only did Ferrelli make that pledge, but he enrolled, began attending class, and participated in team activities.
NIL terms were also agreed upon, at least verbally.
As the transfer window came to a close, though, Ferrelli reversed course.
Luke Ferrelli flipped to Ole Miss.
He went radio silent on the Tigers after getting to campus. Dabo Swinney says Pete Golding reached out directly.
The coach says Ole Miss started texted Ferrelli and his agent. It was a clear violation of the NCAA’s tampering policy, which Clemson intends to act on.
Tampering is rampant in today’s era of college football. Third parties can negotiate terms with multiple suitors despite previous commitments. A deal is never done, even after the ink dries.
At the direction of their reps, players are breaking contracts more frequently. With few consequences seen in the past, there’s nothing stopping them from jumping to a more lucrative offer.
This year, there’s been a bit of a shift in thinking from the schools. Buyouts are being enforced. Players are being sued. Still, hands are tied given players’ status as student-athletes and not employees.
With all of that in mind, most coaches let illegal contact with roster members slide. Coaches are rarely named. School identities are often shielded from the public.
In many cases, we’ll hear a brief account of an alleged violation with little to no useful information. Swinney couldn’t let this latest “blatant” offense slide.
There’s tampering and then there’s blatant tampering… It’s texting kids when they’re in class… It’s hypocrisy.
-Dabo Swinney
Dabo Swinney went scorched earth.
8 minutes of Dabo Swinney flaming Ole Miss for tampering with Clemson’s Luke Ferrelli
“Pete Golding just does what he does.”
Dabo shares an entire timeline of the events
Wow
— Unnecessary Roughness (@UnnecRoughness) January 23, 2026
Swinney took eight minutes of his Friday afternoon to detail his account of what transpired behind the scenes with Luke Ferrelli and Ole Miss.
He claims Pete Golding texted the linebacker and his camp saying, “I know you’re signed. What’s the buyout?” He also alleges that a photo of a $1 million contract was sent.
Swinney later detailed a conversation between Ferrelli’s agent and Clemson GM Jordan Sorrells. It painted an ugly picture.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney says transfer LB Luke Ferrelli’s agent told Clemson they’d turn over text messages for Clemson to use against Ole Miss — IF Clemson added a second year for $1 million to Ferrelli’s already agreed upon contract. Clemson GM Jordan Sorrells declined
— Chapel Fowler (@chapelfowler) January 23, 2026
“The agent confirmed that (Pete) Golding had continued to communicate with Luke (Ferrelli) and had raised the offer once again,” Swinney said. “Jordan (Sorrells) asked to have Luke give us the text messages that he’d received from Coach Golding.
“The agent was hesitant to do that because he didn’t want to burn any bridges with Ole Miss… however, the agent communicated that if we were to add a second year at $1 million to the already agreed upon deal with Luke, then they would gladly give us whatever we need in order to turn Ole Miss in.”
Clemson refused.
As a result, they’ll lose Luke Ferrelli. The Tigers will, however, do everything in their power to punish the Rebels, including exploring potential buyout options.
Clemson’s been criticized for its refusal to negotiate with transfers in the past. In this case, I respect it.