Clemson Tigers' head coach Dabo Swinney recently gave some insight into the ongoing Luke Ferrelli situation.
After a week filled with controversy, the Clemson Tigers and head coach Dabo Swinney finally sounded off about the recent transfer portal issues.
Earlier this month, Swinney landed his sole linebacker commit in the transfer portal in Cal standout Luke Ferrelli after taking an unofficial visit to the program on Jan 6. However, this would quickly change this week when it was reported that Ferrelli will enter the portal. One day after the news broke, the talented defender wound up committing to Ole Miss.
Now, Tiger fans finally received some insight into what went down.
During a press conference with the media on Friday, Swinney told reporters that Ferrelli received a text from Ole Miss head coach Pete Golding stating, “I know you’re signed, but what is your buyout?”
This then led to Clemson reaching out to the NCAA about potential tampering allegations, as confirmed by Swinney on Friday. In addition to the long-time head coach’s comments, Swinney stated that “if you tamper with my players, I’m going to turn you in.”
“I am not going to let someone flat out tamper with my program,” Swinney claims. “If you tamper with my players, I’m going to turn you in. There’s a lot more I can say, but I’m going to let the NCAA do its job.”
To make matters worse, Swinney also mentioned that former Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart and the team’s current quarterback, Trinidad Chambliss, reached out to Ferrelli, while Golding allegedly sent him a photo of an apparent $1 million contract offer.
Ferrelli, as a freshman, set the ACC on fire this season with his incredible play. The highly-regarded linebacker finished his 2025 campaign with 91 tackles, one sack, and one interception in 13 games.
Now, Clemson has a total of nine commits from the transfer portal this offseason, including SMU Mustangs’ running back Chris Johnson Jr. and Oklahoma Sooners’ defensive lineman Markus Strong. Swinney’s lack of attention to the transfer portal adds more salt to the wound, as the program lost two linebackers to the portal in Jamal Anderson and Dee Crayton.
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