David Pollack has officially had enough — and who can blame him?
The former ESPN analyst didn’t flinch around the subject on a recent installment of See Ball Get Ball, laying out his frustrations over college football’s tampering disaster and putting most of the heat on the NCAA. Pollack believes this isn’t complicated in Pollack’s estimation.
The rules exist.
The NCAA simply refuses to enforce them.
And for all that, the sport is going up in flames.
“If the NCAA isn’t going to draw a line in the tampering sand, then it’s ruined the sports we all love,” Pollack wrote on social media — a sentiment that has been stirring in fan bases for months, if not years. “You Absolutely Screwed College Football.” Pollack didn’t stop there.
On the show, he went scorched earth on what he believes is the NCAA’s complete failure to protect the integrity and soundness of rosters, commitments or even basic common sense.
“If you don’t want to make this a line, NCAA, that’s OK. That’s fine,” Pollack said. "But you just screwed college football. You absolutely screwed college football. Because you gave every single person the right now to do this exact same thing."
That is the bit that resonates most with the Clemson-loving fanatics.
This is how Pollack said the current system essentially informs programs that nothing matters anymore, not signatures, not enrollment, not even the children in a class seat. So if a coach wants somebody, they can swoop in and try and grab them.
“You signed him? Who cares,” Pollack said. “How healthy is that for any aspect of our game? It’s atrocious. It’s a black eye.”
Clemson’s Ole Miss Story Is a Good Example Pollack’s rant lands squarely in the middle of Clemson’s ongoing dispute with Ole Miss — with linebacker Luke Ferrelli, in particular. In a statement in January,
Dabo Swinney confirmed that Clemson had turned Ole Miss into the NCAA for tampering. Swinney reports that Ferrelli was already enrolled at Clemson, signed his financial aid agreement, started classes, and was participating in football activities when he was contacted directly.
Ferrelli subsequently re-entered the transfer portal and committed to Ole Miss, and what should have been a settled case became one of the more contentious stories of the offseason. In reference to that situation, Pollack did not mince words.
“If the NCAA doesn’t do anything about this [Ole Miss tampering case], I quit with the NCAA,” Pollack said. “It’s just a bunch of bull crap.”
Don’t Blame the Player — Blame the Adults One thing Pollack was unequivocal on: this isn’t at the kid’s expense.
“This guy’s in sociology class,” Pollack said. “He’s at Clemson, he’s in classes… and now you have another university that tampers.”
That’s Pollack’s line — and one of many fans. Once a player is enrolled, class shows up and that means getting ready for season preparation that should be all good news. Full stop.
"This is not the kid's fault," Pollack said. “This is the adults’ fault and the adults need consequences.” The Bottom Line Pollack’s message cuts through the noise: meaningless are rules without consequences.
If the NCAA refuses to act — especially in high-profile cases like Clemson and Ole Miss — then it’s essentially giving everyone permission to operate in chaos. And until that changes, the transfer portal will not feel like opportunity. It’ll be almost like the Wild West. And Clemson fans? They’ve been watching this movie take in real time.