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Former Cal linebacker Luke Ferrelli has committed to Ole Miss. That comes after a very brief flirtation with Clemson.
Ferrelli signed a deal to play for the Tigers before reversing course. His offer to play for the Rebels was too good to pass up.
Who is Luke Ferrelli?
The freshman defender shined in his lone season with the Bears after signing on as a three-star recruit in 2024. That came after a pair of commitments and subsequent de-commitments from Arizona and Stanford, respectively.
Once getting to Berkeley, he made a quick impact. After utilizing a redshirt year, the linebacker racked up 91 tackles, one sack, and an interception in his most recent campaign.
He’s now buoyed that production into a payday.
Ferrelli opted to test the transfer market ahead of 2026. He landed immediate interest from major suitors. Initially, he committed to play for Clemson.
After that pledge, the linebacker not only signed an NIL deal, but he enrolled at the university, began attending class, and was participating in team activities.
It seemed a done deal that Ferrelli would be playing for the Tigers next year. At the 11th hour, Ole Miss swooped in.
Clemson was ghosted.
In the days leading up to his flip to the Rebels, Luke Ferrelli reportedly cut communication with the Clemson staff. Here’s more from The Clemson Insider.
TCI learned that Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney spoke to Ferrelli on Friday. At that time, Ferrelli told Swinney about his decision to leave the team and enter the portal.
But getting in touch with Ferrelli was not easy for Clemson. TCI was told there was a stretch when Clemson could not get in contact with him. He could not be found on campus, nor was he answering his phone.
As of Saturday morning, sources told TCI Ferrelli turned in his books and his laptop to the school. We were told his plans are to re-enter the portal and go to Ole Miss.
Ferrelli flipped to Ole Miss. He’s in the process of leaving Clemson.
While details of his new NIL agreement with the Rebels are not public, his offer was strong enough to not just rethink his Clemson commitment, but to break his contract and pull out of a school he was already attending.
Now, the focus turns to a potential buyout.
Rival South Carolina is going through a similar situation with Alabama. The Gamecocks are demanding the Crimson Tide pay six figures for the last-minute theft of a veteran defensive end.
ACC counterpart Duke, meanwhile, is in a battle to keep Darian Mensah out of the transfer portal – or at least receive compensation should he leave for Miami.
Ole Miss, too, was recently on the losing end of a transfer portal battle with LSU. The Rebels’ former coach, Lane Kiffin, paid more than $500,000 to swipe Princewill Umanmielen from the roster post-NIL agreement.
In today’s landscape, the deal is not done, even when the ink on the signature line has dried. Clemson, unfortunately, learned the hard way.