SEC Head Coach Calls for 'Severe Penalties' on Ole Miss Football Amid Clemson Battle

Pete Golding and Co. remain in the spotlight, head coaches across America calling for penalties on the Rebels.

Ole Miss head coach Pete Golding runs off the field during warmups before the CFP Fiesta Bowl at the State Farm Stadium, in Glendale, Ariz., on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. | Lauren Witte/Clarion Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Clemson Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney took the college football world by storm in January after accusing the Ole Miss Rebels of "blatant" tampering after signing Cal Bears transfer Luke Ferrelli.

In a tell-all interview, Swinney walked reporters through the situation where Ferrelli initially departed the Cal Bears for the NCAA Transfer Portal this offseason - then signed with Clemson in early January.

Following a short stint with Clemson where he was enrolled with the university for the spring semester, Ferrelli then elected to to re-enter the free agent market where he signed with Ole Miss.

“There’s tampering, and then there’s blatant tampering,” Swinney said. “Tampering 101 is when you’re talking to kids who aren’t in the portal. Tampering 201 is when you’ve already negotiated the deal with the kids not in the portal.

“Tampering 301 is when you’ve got a kid who’s going in the portal to sign somewhere, move there, going to classes and you’re texting them while they’re in class. That’s like a whole ‘nother level of tampering.”

Courtesy of Ole Miss Rebels Football.

Now, South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Shane Beamer is calling for severe penalties when asked about the situation.

Shane Beamer's Take: Severe Penalties Must Be Placed

“What Dabo did? Yes, absolutely, being able to call it out, and I’m sure he, like other schools, turns stuff in when there’s issues and if there’s issues with something,” Beamer said in support. “… I think a lot of those conversations happen head coach to head coach.

"Then, if there’s things that need to be turned into the NCAA or the SEC, we have, but certainly to be able to call someone out publicly like that was the next step, and we’ll see what happens.”

“What the penalty should be, that’s for other people to figure out, but I believe it should be severe,” Beamer said Wednesday. “I mean, if we have rules and we’re not going to enforce them, then what the hell do we have rules for?

Courtesy of Ole Miss Rebels Football.

"That’s kind of how I see it. And trust me … Am I sitting here, you know, from what is it, the expression in a glass house or whatever? I’m sure there’s a grey area that we’ve been in at some point and ticked off some school. We try and do things the right way.

“There’s a lot happening right now, just every kid in the portal, every kid in America, has an agent, and those agents are reaching out to schools. That’s happening. I mean, that’s happening during the season, and it’s not just this year.

"It’s been happening for multiple years where agents of players at other schools are reaching out to colleges about the players they represent.”

More Ole Miss News:

Ole Miss Football Pulls Off Historic Recruiting Feat After Landing No. 2 Portal Class

Ole Miss Football Recruiting Notebook: Three Targets Pete Golding Must Land in Year 1

'Growing Optimism' That Ole Miss Football QB Trinidad Chambliss Will Play in 2026

Join the Community:

Follow Zack Nagy on Twitter: @znagy20 and Ole Miss Rebels On SI: @OleMissOnSI for all coverage surrounding the Ole Miss program.