It turns out Clemson is not the only one raising its hand and saying “Hey... something’s not right here.”
Less than a week after Dabo Swinney went public with allegations that Clemson had turned Ole Miss into the NCAA for tampering by portal signee Luke Ferrelli, a new wrinkle has materialized — and that’s not involving the Tigers.
Fresno State, according to a new report, has also presented the NCAA with evidence of Ole Miss tampering with Bulldogs wide receiver Josiah Freeman, a sixth-year senior and Fresno State’s leading receiver.
That matters.
A lot.
An Ole Miss football staffer allegedly had improper contact with Freeman when he was still on Fresno State’s roster. And unlike the usual “he said, she said” moments that get brushed off in college football, this one seems to come with proof.
“Fresno State has receipts,” the report says — roughly as straight-up a statement as you can get.
Fresno State head coach Matt Entz and athletic director Garrett Klassy declined to comment publicly, the report says, but Freeman had provided screenshots of the contact that were eventually presented as evidence. But if that’s true, this story simply moved from accusation to pattern.
This move just touches on a moment that comes as Clemson is embroiled in a dispute with Ole Miss over Ferrelli that has already put a national spotlight on Pete Golding and the Rebels. Swinney had previously detailed Clemson’s version of events, saying Golding texted Ferrelli directly while he was sitting in class, even though Ferrelli had already enrolled, signed his financial aid agreement, and begun participating in team activities.
That was when Swinney hit the nail on the head with one of the most memorable quotes of the offseason — deconstructing tampering as if it were a college course syllabus.
“There’s tampering, and then there’s blatant tampering,” Swinney said. “Tampering 101 is when you’re dealing with kids who aren’t actually in the portal. Tampering 201 is when you have already negotiated the deal when the kid isn’t in the portal. Tampering 301 involves you having a kid who went in the portal, signed somewhere, moved somewhere, attended classes, and you’ve been texting them while they’re in class.”
Clemson didn’t just vent. They acted.
“We turned everything in to the NCAA,” Swinney said.
And now?
Clemson's complaint no longer stands alone.
After Swinney’s statement, the NCAA responded briefly but tellingly, claiming it would investigate all credible allegations and demanding complete cooperation from everyone involved. That statement did not name Ole Miss. It didn’t name Clemson. But when several programs are allegedly turning in evidence against the same school, the language of “credible allegations” suddenly feels far more meaningful.
Whether anything real will result from it will be seen — NCAA enforcement is rarely nimble, and far less frequently loud. But this much is clear: What used to look like Clemson versus Ole Miss now looks much more like Ole Miss versus the sport. And if Fresno State does have screenshots to back up its claims, maybe this saga is just beginning.