What Pete Golding wants, Pete Golding often gets.
The head coaching position he’d long imagined practically fell into his lap after his former boss, Lane Kiffin, left for LSU a couple months ago.
One domino toppling out of that was Marion, Ark. native Carius Curne jumping into the transfer portal. A whole host of schools courted the state of Arkansas’ No. 1 recruit in the class of 2024, including the Razorbacks, but in the end Golding got the offensive lineman to sign with the Rebels.
The newly appointed Ole Miss head man was just getting revved up with Curne. Not content with merely a top 5 transfer portal class this cycle, Golding reportedly went after another transfer, linebacker Luke Ferrelli, even though Ferrelli had already enrolled at Clemson and was attending classes.
The incursion ticked Clemson coach Dabo Swinney off so royally he made sure to single out Golding in a press conference rampage on Friday.
According to Swinney, Golding asked Ferrelli what his buyout was at Clemson and sent him a photo of a $1 million contract waiting for him at Ole Miss.
“I am not going to let someone flat out tamper with my program,” Swinney said. “If you tamper with my players, I’m going to turn you in.”
The NCAA’s vice president of enforcement has already said the governing body will start an investigation. Movement in this direction could indirectly help Ryan Silverfield’s cause as he tries to build on his own touted transfer class as the new Arkansas football coach.
If the NCAA finds Golding and Ole Miss to have tampered with Ferrelli, the rest of the SEC will silently rejoice while Swinney probably openly celebrates. Ole Miss could be hit with sanctions “including fines, suspensions, show-cause orders, recruiting restrictions and a potential postseason ban,” USA Today reported.
Pete Golding vs Arkansas for Tommy Kinsler IV
Without even knowing it, Golding has inadvertently helped Arkansas when it comes to the next apple of his eye: Miami transfer Tommy Kinsler IV.
Kinsler already knows what it means to be on a championship-level team. The backup right tackle helped the Hurricanes win three College Football Playoff games against Texas A&M, Ohio State and Golding’s Rebels before falling to Indiana in a thrilling national championship game.
Forget about returning to the College Football Playoffs next season, though. If Kinsler wants to return to any kind of bowl game, Ole Miss may not be the best place to land given the kind of fire Golding is playing with.
