Hints emerge that Dianna Russini will eventually tell her story
Hints emerge that Dianna Russini will eventually tell her story.
Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney has intensified his claims of significant tampering involving several key players following a disappointing 7-6 season. He highlighted ongoing efforts to lure players away from Clemson, emphasizing their loyalty to the program.
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Dabo Swinney steps up claims of 'insane' tampering involving multiple Clemson stars
CLEMSON ā Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney is not done talking about tampering.
He said it even occurred this offseason after the Tigers came off a 7-6 season, the second-worst year in Swinney's full 17 seasons.
"These kids love this place," Swinney said May 4 on the "Always College Football with Greg McElroy" podcast. "You think our guys are here for free? You donāt think people try to get Peter Woods and Antonio Williams andĀ T.J. Parker, andĀ Sammy Brown, andĀ Ashton Hampton, andĀ T.J. Moore and (Bryant) Wesco?
"You donāt think they try to get our players? Sure, they do. Thereās tampering. It's insane what's going on in college football. But our kids stay here because we've created value in the place, and there's value in the people who you're doing life with every day."
Clemson lost three end-of-year starters to the portal after the 2025 season: defensive tackle Stephiylan Green (LSU) and safeties Khalil Barnes (Georgia) and Ricardo Jones (Vanderbilt). Still, the Tigers retained some of their premier talent like Brown, Moore and Wesco and saw others who stayed at Clemson taken in the .
Dabo Swinney claimed there were attempts to lure away players like Peter Woods, Antonio Williams, and T.J. Parker from Clemson.
Swinney's accusations of tampering came after Clemson's 7-6 season, which was their second-worst record in his 17 years as head coach.
Swinney stated that the players love Clemson and are not there for free, implying their loyalty despite external tampering efforts.
The players mentioned include Peter Woods, Antonio Williams, T.J. Parker, Sammy Brown, Ashton Hampton, and T.J. Moore.
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"We lead the nation in graduation and retention," Swinney said. "Iām 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 theĀ Tigers coach said was tampering with transferĀ linebacker Luke Ferrelli.
Clemson lost Ferrelli, a Cal linebacker who is the ACC's defensive rookie of the year, to Ole Miss. He transferred toĀ ClemsonĀ on Jan. 7, thenĀ re-entered the portal on Jan. 16 to transfer to Ole MissĀ on Jan. 22.
Swinney said GoldingĀ was contacting FerrelliĀ 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."
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 atĀ DCarter@usatodayco.comĀ 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