MIRAMAR BEACH, Fla. — Ole Miss coach Pete Golding remains the subject of an NCAA investigation after Clemson coach Dabo Swinney called him out for tampering. Golding on Wednesday offered up a defense of his actions, along with a question: Why isn’t another program, whose tampering Golding hinted led to the Clemson situation, also being investigated?Golding didn’t name the program, but the player Golding was referencing transferred to LSU.The refresher for those who need it: On Jan. 23, Swinney held a press conference in which he alleged Ole Miss tampered with linebacker Luke Ferrelli, a Cal transfer who had signed with Clemson and moved to campus before re-entering the portal and landing at Ole Miss. Swinney told the media that Golding texted Ferrelli while he was in a class at Clemson.Golding did not respond publicly until March 31 and did not directly address Swinney’s allegations. Golding recounted that Ole Miss had hosted Ferrelli on a visit but had told the player there was no spot available for him because starting linebacker TJ Dottery was still on the roster, and that Dottery’s transfer to LSU on the final day of the portal window opened the spot for Ferrelli.On Wednesday, in an interview with a handful of reporters at SEC spring meetings, Golding went a bit further. He began by pointing out that Ferrelli’s visit came when Ole Miss was preparing for the College Football Playoff quarterfinal, which it won to advance to the semifinals.“The kid we’re talking about with tampering was on an official visit that weekend,” Golding said. “You’re talking now 10 days later, from an official visit, all of a sudden that this is now so wrong to reach out to a guy that OV-ed you, that wanted to be there, that you didn’t have a spot for, that I had no idea where the hell he had signed or not, because I had been getting ready for Miami and playing in the Fiesta Bowl.
Pete Golding defends Ole Miss, wonders why LSU isn’t also being investigated for tampering
Golding offered up a question: Why isn't the program whose tampering he hinted led to the Clemson situation also being investigated?










