Urban Meyer Strongly Addresses Tampering Punishments in College Football

Urban Meyer is advocating for punishment for coaches who use the NCAA transfer portal to tamper with players in other programs.

Former Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer broadcasts on Fox's Big Noon Kickoff prior to the NCAA football game between the Buckeyes and the Michigan Wolverines at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Mich. on Nov. 29, 2025. | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The introduction of NIL into college football has created its fair share of challenges across the sport.

NIL was legalized in the summer of 2021, three years after the introduction of the NCAA transfer portal in 2018. The two have become more intertwined in recent offseasons as the portal has served as a facilitator for players to search elsewhere for greater compensation.

However, the players and those around them are not always the ones pushing themselves into the portal. In both the 2025 and 2026 offseasons, coaching staffs from other programs have made contact with players in order to lure them into the transfer portal.

The NCAA is workshopping the best ideas to counter the trend of tampering in college football, including a potential six-game suspension for head coaches.

Three-time national champion head coach and FOX Sports college football analyst Urban Meyer proposed an idea to crack down on tampering on a recent edition of "The Triple Option" podcast with fellow FOX college football panelists Rob Stone and Mark Ingram II.

“Is six games legit for (tampering)? Yeah, and I’d add one: if you mislead or lie to the (NCAA) investigators, you’re done. Your college coaching career is over, and your (athletic director) is done," Meyer said

"I’d tie the AD into this as well, because there’s been a couple of examples where the head coach refused to meet with the NCAA. Well, the head coach reports to the AD, so how does that happen? … Your college coaching career is over if you do that.”

Instances of tampering in college football

The most recent tampering incident occurred with transfer linebacker Luke Ferrelli, who originally transferred from California to Clemson. Following his enrollment at Clemson, Ferrelli flipped that commitment to Ole Miss. Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney has publicly criticized Rebels head coach Pete Golding for luring Ferrelli into the portal.

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney | Ken Ruinard / USA Today Co / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

LSU was a prime tampering suspect in its hunt for a quarterback early in the 2026 offseason. Days after signing an extension at Washington, Huskies starter Demond Williams Jr. jumped into the portal.

Williams' agency dropped him, and the university threatened with legal action, two developments that prompted Williams to stay at Washington. Williams later said he was receiving bad advice from those around him regarding the decision.

Miami has been embroiled in two separate tampering controversies in the last two offseasons. The first occurred with former Wisconsin defensive back Xavier Lucas in 2025, who had signed NIL extensions with the Badgers prior to his mysterious entry into the portal. Wisconsin sued Miami over the incident in June of 2025.

The second incident took place on the final day of the portal's two-week entry window in 2026. Duke quarterback Darian Mensah hopped in the portal on Jan. 16, breaching a contract he had signed when he transferred from Tulane to Duke. The university sued Mensah, but the two sides ultimately reached a settlement that allowed him to transfer to Miami.