Dabo Swinney steps up claims of 'insane' tampering involving multiple Clemson stars

"We lead the nation in graduation and retention," Swinney said. "I’m proud of that. So, we do have a culture. We just had 16 guys go to the NFL."

Tampering has become a sore spot for Swinney since he called out Ole Miss and coach Pete Golding on Jan. 23 for what the Tigers coach said was tampering with transfer linebacker Luke Ferrelli.

Clemson lost Ferrelli, a Cal linebacker who is the ACC's defensive rookie of the year, to Ole Miss. He transferred to Clemson on Jan. 7, then re-entered the portal on Jan. 16 to transfer to Ole Miss on Jan. 22.

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Swinney said Golding was contacting Ferrelli despite him transferring to Clemson, being enrolled in classes and participating in team workouts. Swinney stated that Golding texted Ferrelli while he was in class saying, "I know you're signed. What's the buyout?" with a photo of a $1 million contract.

Swinney submitted the information to the NCAA and is awaiting the organization's ruling. Golding responded to the claim on March 31, saying, "There's two sides to every story. I'm not going to sit up here and use the podium as a grandstand and all of that. That's why there is enforcement. That's why we have our compliance office. They do all that."

Golding added: "(Ferrelli) is a kid that wanted to be here. We wanted him to be here. At the end of it, he came over and he's here right now."

What is tampering?

Tampering in college athletics is when teams contact players who are on other teams. That is against the rules.

In many cases, teams will do that to try to get players into the transfer portal. However, accusations are rarely publicized.

Teams are not allowed to tamper with athletes, according to NCAA bylaw 13.1.1.4. Here's what the full rule says:

"An athletics staff member or other representative of the institution's athletics interests shall not communicate or make contact with the student-athlete of another NCAA Division I institution, or any individual associated with the student-athlete (e.g., family member, scholastic or nonscholastic coach, advisor), directly or indirectly, without first obtaining authorization through the notification of transfer process.

"Before making contact, directly or indirectly, with a student-athlete of an NCAA Division II or Division III institution, or an NAIA four-year collegiate institution, an athletics staff member or other representative of the institution's athletics interests shall comply with the rule of the applicable division or the NAIA rule for making contact with a student-athlete."

Derrian Carter covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at DCarter@usatodayco.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DerrianCarter00

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Clemson's Dabo Swinney calls out 'insane' tampering with star players