What started as a headline-grabbing accusation from Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney has quickly evolved into something much bigger - and potentially more damning - for Ole Miss football.
Just days after Swinney publicly accused Ole Miss of tampering in the recruitment of portal transfer Luke Ferrelli, a second program has reportedly stepped forward with similar claims. This time, it’s Fresno State, and the allegations are centered around wide receiver Josiah Freeman - a sixth-year senior and the Bulldogs’ top target in the passing game last season.
This isn’t just noise. It’s a second formal accusation of tampering, and according to reports, Fresno State isn’t coming empty-handed. The school has reportedly submitted what’s being described as “evidence” to the NCAA - including screenshots of alleged improper contact between an Ole Miss staffer and Freeman while he was still on Fresno State’s roster.
That’s the kind of detail that moves this from a vague accusation into something the NCAA can’t easily ignore.
Neither Fresno State head coach Matt Entz nor athletic director Garrett Klassy have commented publicly, but the report makes it clear: the school believes it has the receipts. And if those screenshots hold up, this isn’t just a one-off - it’s the start of a potential pattern.
This all lands in the middle of the firestorm already brewing between Clemson and Ole Miss. Swinney didn’t hold back last week when he accused Ole Miss defensive coordinator Pete Golding of directly texting Ferrelli while the player was in class - after he had already enrolled at Clemson, signed a financial aid agreement, and begun participating in team activities.
Swinney framed it with a now-viral analogy that broke down the levels of tampering like a college course catalog:
“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.”
That’s not just frustration - that’s a coach drawing a line in the sand. And Clemson didn’t stop at words. According to Swinney, the school formally submitted its complaint and evidence to the NCAA.
Now, with Fresno State reportedly doing the same, the NCAA has no choice but to pay attention. In a statement following Swinney’s comments, the organization said it would investigate all “credible allegations” and expects full cooperation from all parties involved. The statement didn’t name names, but the subtext was clear: this isn’t just about one school anymore.
While it’s still early, and NCAA enforcement is rarely swift or transparent, the implications are real. What looked like a one-on-one dispute between Clemson and Ole Miss has started to feel like something bigger - a broader reckoning that could put Ole Miss at the center of a much larger conversation about tampering in the transfer portal era.
And if Fresno State’s screenshots are as compelling as reported, this story might just be getting started.