Kentucky head coach Will Stein made headlines by jumping into one of the messiest college football dramas in years. The former Ducks OC publicly backed Clemson’s Dabo Swinney in his warpath against Ole Miss HC Pete Golding. Stein believes the current state of recruiting has turned into the “Wild West,” and that coaches need to start following the rules again if the sport is going to survive.

After finishing his first transfer portal run at Lexington, the head honcho hopped on Outkick’s podcast and was asked directly about ongoing tampering in the portal.

“There’s a lot of gray, mostly gray, just to be quite frank,” Stein said. “I think you have to do your best job as a coach, operating within the confines of the rules. You have to. That’s why rules are in place, but the rules get skewed. They get changed. They change almost weekly, daily, sometimes yearly. So how do you keep up with this? You have to have really smart people around you, and you have to do the right thing. It’s really simple.”

It can be tempting for coaches and programs to bend the rules, especially when it seems the NCAA isn’t enforcing them strictly. Agents on the payroll sometimes tell schools about players who might enter the transfer portal way before it happens.

Still, the rulebook draws obvious lines that coaches can’t cross. Coaches are not allowed to directly contact players who are not in the transfer portal yet, no matter what an agent says. Unfortunately, Pete Golding allegedly crossed that last line with ACC defensive rookie Luke Ferrelli.

Ferrelli actually moved to Clemson back in January. He even rented an apartment, bought a car, and was actively sitting in classes and working out with the team. Despite being a declared Tiger, Swinney mentioned that Pete Golding kept reaching out to the young man. They reportedly even texted him during an 8:00 a.m. class, asking about his “buyout” and sending a picture of a $1 million contract.

Swinney was upset and frustrated by what occurred. He brought receipts to a press conference and compared the situation to “having an affair on their honeymoon”. He alleged that Ole Miss eventually doubled their offer to a $2 million, two-year deal. This led Ferrelli to suddenly quit Clemson for Ole Miss. Swinney was so livid that he officially turned all the evidence over to the NCAA, calling it “blatant tampering”.

Stein kept it simple and blunt, telling reporters that coaches shouldn’t have any trouble not texting kids who are already enrolled elsewhere.

Will Stein’s rule number one

“It’s like the hidden rules of baseball. You know what to do, what not to do. Just follow the agreements. You’re still playing by the rules, but don’t text the kid. I mean, is it that hard? I don’t get that. It’s not hard,” Wildcats HC said.

Even analysts like David Pollack and Joel Klatt have backed Dabo Swinney, arguing that if the NCAA doesn’t fix the issue by punishing Ole Miss for the alleged infraction, college football will be screwed beyond repair in the years ahead.

Right now, the NCAA has confirmed it is investigating the claims against Golding and Ole Miss, but nobody knows if it actually has the “teeth” to do anything about it. If they do find Ole Miss guilty of tampering, the school could face heavy fines or recruiting bans.

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It will be fascinating to see how this situation pans out, particularly since many observers, including analyst Paul Finebaum, believe it won’t end in Swinney’s favor.