CLEMSON — So much has changed in college football over the past few years that the sport, at least at its foundation, is almost unrecognizable.
The advent of NIL, free transfers and the portal have turned the sport on its ear. Some players are making more at the college level than they would be playing in the NFL on a rookie deal. Make no mistake, players should be getting a piece of the pie, and a substantial piece at that. There is just too much money involved now.
College athletes should also be able to play at the school of their choosing, even if that means playing at multiple schools over a four or five-year career. Having said that, there has to be a limit. There have to be some guardrails in place.
What we’ve seen during this latest portal window has been downright insanity. Tampering is running rampant like never before, and coaches, knowing they aren’t likely to face any real consequences, have become more and more brazen in their attempts to put together a roster.
We’ve seen Derian Mensah attempting to leave Duke just before the closing of the window, which would leave the Blue Devils high and dry. This came after he’d officially signed on for next season, even going as far as to release a video announcing his return for 2026. Miami was almost immediately linked to him. That’s not possible without blatant tampering.
While Duke is fighting back, not much has been made of the obvious tampering that took place.
We also saw Washington’s Demond Williams Jr. announce his intention to enter the portal just four days after resigning with the Huskies. He was instantly linked to Lane Kiffin and LSU, as well as Miami. Again, there’s no way there was no tampering involved there. Williams ultimately decided he was staying at Washington, but despite never entering the portal, he was linked to two different schools.
While something in his deal obviously persuaded the quarterback he was best off staying with the Huskies, nothing was really said about the tampering. In fact, while many coaches have spoken out against the rampant tampering, they’ve always been vague in their messaging, being very careful not to name any names. No one wanted to step on any toes or push back against the status quo.
However, that all changed on Friday. One head coach finally stepped up to the podium and not only singled out a school, but he also named the head coach and general manager of said school in the process.
Unsurprisingly, that coach was Dabo Swinney, who has been as outspoken as anyone on the issues of tampering. Athletic Director Graham Neff was right by his side in support.
Not only did Swinney call out Ole Miss football, but he also called out head coach Pete Golding and GM Austin Thomas. He laid out a specific timeline for exactly how Ole Miss poached transfer signee Luke Ferrelli, even though he was not in the portal. Ferrelli had already signed his financial aid agreement, was enrolled and taking classes, and he was taking part in team activities. He’d also already rented an apartment and purchased a vehicle, according to Swinney.
We all know there are very few rules governing college athletics these days. Especially in the revenue-generating sports. However, tampering with a signed player is unequivocally against the rules. While there are a lot of grey areas when it comes to tampering, a head coach texting a player directly, just after he’d signed on with another school, and was no longer in the portal, is out of bounds.
Look, the brutal truth is that what Swinney did on Friday may not have any long-lasting implications. It might not change anything. The matter is currently in the hands of the NCAA, and while they did release a statement, we all know that organization hasn’t had much teeth when it comes to the enforcement of its own rules.
“The NCAA will investigate any credible allegations of tampering and expect full cooperation from all involved as is required by NCAA rules,” NCAA Vice President of Enforcement Jon Duncan said in a statement on Friday. “The NCAA will investigate any credible allegations of tampering and expect full cooperation from all involved as is required by NCAA rules. We will not comment further on any ongoing investigation.”
No matter what eventually comes of any investigation, Swinney decided he had been pushed over the line and took a stand. He stood up for his program, and he did it rather emphatically in mic drop fashion. It was something that was long overdue, and honestly, it was rather refreshing to see a head coach push back against a system that has gone so completely off the rails.
Swinney did at least accomplish one thing. He proved that he’s not afraid to bring the receipts. At the very least, maybe that sends a message to the next head coach thinking about tampering with one of Swinney’s players in the same fashion.
Photo by Bart Boatwright