Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney’s comments on Friday about alleged tampering by Ole Miss have continued to ripple across college football, raising renewed questions about whether the NCAA has any real authority in the transfer portal era.
Swinney outlined a detailed timeline involving linebacker Luke Ferrelli and described what he believes was extreme tampering, stressing that Ferrelli was enrolled at Clemson, attending classes, and participating in team activities when contact allegedly occurred. Ferrelli had committed to Clemson early in the portal window, was officially announced by the program, and then abruptly re-entered the portal last Thursday before committing to Ole Miss later the same day.
Advertisement
Swinney and the Tigers’ athletic director Graham Neff said the situation was reported to the NCAA for potential violations, a move that drew national attention and sparked debate throughout the sport.
Among those weighing in was Urban Meyer, who said on The Triple Option podcast that if Clemson truly has evidence, the case should be resolved quickly rather than dragging on for years.
“If this is all true – and it sounds to me like Dabo has the goods right there — this should be not a three-year investigation, a two-year investigation. This should be a one-week investigation,” Meyer said. “You go on the campus [at] Ole Miss, you meet with the athletic director and the coach and say … ‘We have facts here, you can’t lie to the NCAA, and if you [do] you can’t coach.’ The investigation is then over. But then they’re going to hire Tom Mars, that [prominent] attorney, they’ll fight it, and I guess they’ll win. It really bothers me.”
Meyer also pushed back on criticism aimed at Swinney for speaking out, saying accountability is necessary if the sport is going to avoid complete disorder.
Advertisement
“I actually see people out there taking shots at Dabo. Think about that… They call him a whiner. Why is he whiny? … Where Dabo’s doing the right thing. Turn ‘em in. Absolutely turn ‘em in. If nothing happens, there’s no governance, there’s no rules, and it’ll be the most chaotic … which it already is. So, I’m disappointed.”
The NCAA acknowledged Clemson’s allegations Friday night, saying it will investigate any credible claims of tampering while declining to comment further.
Meyer, however, expressed little confidence that meaningful consequences would follow.
“There are no rules,” Meyer said. “The NCAA is gone. It’s over. … Law and order without consequences is not law and order. It’s chaos. … It actually disgusts me. It makes me sick. Because I’ll hear people say ‘everybody does it’, no, everybody doesn’t do it.”
Advertisement
This article originally appeared on Clemson Wire: Urban Meyer backs Dabo Swinney calling out Ole Miss over tampering
