Steve Sarkisian criticized Ole Miss for its transfer portal activities, calling it part of a 'wild-west culture' in college football. He expressed concern over the chaotic state of the sport, highlighting issues like NIL and tampering.
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They often say that winners focus on themselves, and losers focus on winners, but in the case of Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian and his recent comments about the Ole Miss Rebels, it feels as if that nomenclature doesn't quite apply.
Earlier this week, Sarkisian took the gloves off when talking about the Rebels and their activity in the transfer portal this offseason, going scorched earth on Pete Golding and the entire "wild-west culture" that has been created in college football, where rules be damned, and anything goes in the name of getting a leg up on the competition.
“I try my best to not get consumed with how bad it is,” Sarkisian said of the recent state of college football to USA TODAY's Matt Hayes. "It just wears you out.”
Of course, Sarkisian is talking of many things here: the transfer portal, NIL, tampering, eligibility lawsuits, scheduling, etc. Over the past five years, the sport has changed more than it did in the previous two decades, and it's left us all with a product that looks little like what it used to.
Some have benefited, with players making much more money and gaining the freedom to move about the country at will throughout the course of their careers. However, many have suffered, particularly the fans.
Sarkisian is finally ready to speak on the issues, and he took aim, in particular, at a perpetrator in the transfer portal: The Ole Miss Rebels.
The "crime" took place earlier this spring, when Clemson Tigers linebacker Luke Ferrelli was sitting in class recently after transferring from California. He reportedly received a text from Ole Miss coaches of a million-dollar check, encouraging him to transfer to Ole Miss instead, after the fact.
Steve Sarkisian criticized Ole Miss for its transfer portal activities, describing it as part of a chaotic 'wild-west culture' in college football.
Sarkisian noted that the transfer portal, along with NIL and tampering, has drastically changed college football in the last five years, creating a product that is very different from the past.
Sarkisian expressed concerns about the overwhelming nature of the current college football landscape, including issues with rules and the competitive environment.


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Ferrelli accepted the deal and is now enrolled at Mississippi. Multiple people have cried tampering, but the NCAA has done nothing about it. Sark is ready to take a stand.
“At Texas, we will only take 50% of a player’s academic credit hours,” Sarkisian continues. “You may be a semester from graduating, but you’re going all the way back to 50% if you play here and want a degree. But at Ole Miss, they can take you. All you have to do is take basket weaving, and you can get an Ole Miss degree.”
Academic matters aside, Sarkisian clearly does not agree with how his SEC foe is handling things and feels they are taking advantage of the unruly system. Whether or not his words will change anything is a major question, but at this point, good on him for speaking up and trying to hold them accountable.
If others follow suit, the NCAA might finally be forced to act.
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This article originally appeared on College Sports Wire: Texas HC Steve Sarkisian calls out Ole Miss for transfer portal antics