Ole Miss Rebels head coach Pete Golding took the podium to speak with reporters as spring practice continued on Tuesday.
During his media availability, Golding was asked about the serious tampering allegation levied against him and the Ole Miss program by Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney back in January.
Swinney accused Golding of tampering with linebacker transfer Luke Ferrelli, who flipped his commitment to join the Rebels just 16 days after announcing his commitment to the Tigers.
“I mean, obviously, I think there’s two sides to every story, right? And so, I’m not going to sit up here and use the podium as a grandstand and all that,” Golding said of the situation. “I mean, that’s why there is enforcement, that’s why we have a compliance office, right? They do all that.
“So, bottom line on the recruitment of Luke: he came on an official visit prior to the Fiesta Bowl and I told him, ‘Hey, I want you to be our green-dot Mike [linebacker]. But right now, we have a green-dot Mike. And that spot’s not going to be available until we have one available.’”
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Swinney accused Golding of sending Ferrelli a $1 million contract while he was in class at Clemson.
“This is a whole other level of tampering. It’s total hypocrisy,” Swinney said on Jan. 23. “This is a really sad state of affairs. We have a broken system, and if there are no consequences for tampering, then we have no rules and we have no governance.”
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On Jan. 16, Clemson submitted a formal complaint to the NCAA accusing Ole Miss of tampering with Ferrelli.
“I’m not trying to get anybody fired, but when is enough enough?” Swinney added. “If we have rules, and tampering is a rule, then there should be a consequence for that. And shame on the adults if we’re not going to hold each other accountable.”
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