Dabo Swinney took some time to call out Ole Miss over the transfer process of linebacker Luke Ferrelli after Clemson thought he was heading to their program. Swinney went on a long rant during a press conference, laying out exactly what happened. Reactions have filtered in since then, including from former coaches.
Steve Spurrier was asked about the situation, saying rules do not even exist anymore. The former South Carolina head coach appeared to be a mix of serious and joking. But Spurrier thinks Dabo could be “left behind” if he does not adapt to the modern way.
“Somebody would’ve told Dabo by now there ain’t no rules anymore” Spurrier said. “There’s no rules! … I don’t know if they’re going to enforce any rules now or not. I think Dabo has learned now that he’s got to start paying his players like everyone else is or you’ll get left behind. You can complain, but I don’t know how good it’s gonna do. There’s no rules. Just, somebody tell Dabo there’s no rules.”
Clemson has actually been active in the NCAA transfer portal this offseason, at least to their standards. Nine new faces will be joining the Tigers. All but one come from the defensive side of the ball, specifically the line of scrimmage. Getting better talent up front clearly was something Clemson wanted to work on this season.
At the same time, Swinney thought Ferelli would be one of them. Instead, Ferelli will spend the 2026 season in Oxford under head coach Pete Golding. Swinney feels like there was some big-time tampering that took place throughout the process.
“There’s tampering. And then, there’s blatant tampering,” Swinney said. “Tampering 101 is when you’re talking to kids who aren’t in the portal, Tampering 201 is when you’ve already negotiated the deal with the kids not in the portal.
“Tampering 301 is when you’ve got a kid who’s going in the portal to sign somewhere, move there, going to classes and you’re texting them while they’re in class. That’s like a whole ‘nother level of tampering.”
Still, whenever Spurrier sees an opportunity to poke fun at somebody, especially a rival, he is going to take it. Spurrier is far from the first to say Swinney needs to adapt to the modern times of college football, whether it be NIL or the transfer portal. And a safe assumption would be it will be far from the last.