On The Joel Klatt Show, Fox Sports’ lead college football analyst, Joel Klatt, weighed in on the tampering problem in college football and how Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney went off on Ole Miss for tampering.

During his press conference on Jan. 23, Swinney discussed the alleged tampering involving Ole Miss head coach Pete Golding and linebacker Luke Ferrelli, and what it means in the current state of college football.

“We have a broken system, and if there are no consequences for tampering, then we have no rules and we have no governance. It’s really just that simple,” Swinney said. “Let me be very clear – this is not about a linebacker at Clemson. … I feel sorry for the young man, to be honest with you. I blame the adults. And again, if you want to have adult world, then there needs to be adult consequences. But this is not about a linebacker at Clemson. And I don’t want anyone on our team that doesn’t want to be here. I would never want that.

“But let me tell you what it is about – it’s about the next kid. And it’s about the next kid, and it’s about the message that is being sent if this blatant tampering is allowed to happen without any consequences. This is about protecting our program. This is about college football. That’s what this is about.”  

Klatt supported Swinney’s comments and says more coaches need to step up to implore college football to put a stop to tampering.

“Dabo is absolutely right,” Klatt said. “He’s right, and yet, we need more of guys like Dabo to step forward and say ‘govern us’. Pete Golding needs to raise his hand and say ‘govern us.’ [Miami head coach] Mario Cristobal needs to step forward and say ‘govern us’.”

However, Klatt says coaches like Golding and Cristobal will not want to do that because “they’re succeeding in this model without governance.”

“They’re succeeding in the model without penalty, because they’re willing to do it,” Klatt said. “They’re willing to step in there and get dirty. … There is no honor amongst thieves, and there is no honor in college football in the way rosters are built anymore. It’s just the truth. And I hate that about it, but it is just the truth.”

Klatt added that when people say “there are no rules” in college football, there’s a big difference between that and “the rules are not enforced.”

“Here’s the thing — everyone’s like, ‘There are no rules.’ No, no, no. There is a huge difference between ‘there are no rules’ and ‘the rules are not enforced.’ That is vastly different,” Klatt said. “The problem is, folks, is that people and entities within college football are college football’s worst enemy. They’re their own worst enemy. Because what’s going on in our sport is a perpetual cycle of individuals and entities making decisions in their short-term perceived self-interest that ultimately create a worse and worse outcome for the overall group. That’s what we have. It’s every single day. Conferences, schools, coaches, players – everybody. The College Football Playoff did this. They make decisions in their own short-term perceived best interest. There’s no thought to the long term.

“Pete Golding doesn’t care about three years from now. He’s like, ‘I need Ferrelli now, because I’ve got to win next year.’ So, we are our own worst enemy in college football.”

You can check out Klatt’s full commentary on tampering, why it’s rampant in college football right now, and more in the following video: