Ole Miss’ Golding rebuts Swinney’s accusation of tampering

Two months after Clemson’s Dabo Swinney publicly accused Pete Golding of tampering in a 20-minute rant, the Ole Miss coach recounted the acquisition of linebacker Luke Ferrelli from his perspective.

“There’s two sides to every story,” Golding said Tuesday.

Ferrelli, a freshman linebacker from Cal, landed with Clemson via the transfer portal in early January. He began classes and team meetings. Then, 20 days later, he transferred to Ole Miss.

“He came on an official visit right prior to the Fiesta Bowl, and I told him, ‘Hey, I want you to be our green-dot Mike [middle linebacker], but right now, we’ve got a green-dot Mike. And that spot’s not going to be available until, you know, we have one available,'” Golding recalled.

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That job belonged to TJ Dottery, a junior linebacker whose helmet featured a small green dot on the back, signifying he was the chosen one with a direct communicator in his helmet where he could listen to coaches on the sideline or in the booth. It was Dottery’s job to then communicate with the defense.

That job became available weeks later, when the linebacker followed coach Lane Kiffin to LSU.

“I said, ‘But right now there ain’t a spot available. So, if that spot becomes available, it’s yours,'” Golding continued. “It’s a kid that wanted to be here, that we wanted to be here, that at the end of it, came open, and he’s here, and we’re happy to have him.”

Swinney, who compared the situation to “having an affair on your honeymoon,” said he forwarded evidence to the NCAA.

“If you tamper with my players, I’m going to turn you in. It’s just that simple,” Swinney said. “I’m not out to get anybody fired, but there has to be accountability and consequences for this type of behavior and total disregard for the rules.”

NCAA vice president of enforcement Jon Duncan said in a statement at the time that the association “will investigate any credible allegations of tampering and expect full cooperation from all involved as required by NCAA rules.”

Two months later, no ruling has been made to suggest tampering was found.

“I’m not going to sit up here and use the podium as a grandstand,” Golding said. “That’s why we have a compliance office.”