Florida State coach Mike Norvell said players on the Seminoles’ roster have received “outside contact” from other programs that would equate to tampering.
In a hyperactive offseason for transfers, Norvell said in an interview on the ACC Network the players in question weren’t in the transfer portal or considering a transfer from Tallahassee.
“We had conversations, there were a couple guys on our team that have had people from the outside talking. They were not in the portal, but they’re trying to make decisions on certain things for their future,” Norvell said. “That’s what’s unfortunate. But grateful for the guys we have and the team that we’re going to be able to move forward with. But for college athletics, we want to be together here moving forward.”
This isn’t the first charge of tampering in the conference since the 2021 season ended.
Boston College wide receiver Zay Flowers had “six figure offers” on the table from schools trying to lure him, but turned them down, he told ESPN.
Pitt wide receiver Jordan Addison entered the transfer portal on the final day moves were permitted to be eligible for next season. Addison, who won the Biletnikoff Award with 1,479 receiving yards and 17 touchdown catches, landed at Southern California.
Panthers head coach Pat Narduzzi told ESPN he reached out to new Trojans coach Lincoln Riley multiple times under suspicion he had contacted Addison about replacing #1 wide receiver Drake London, who entered the NFL draft.
It’s not just an ACC issue.
Texas sophomore wide receiver Xavier Worthy reportedly weighed a lucrative NIL-related offer from another program before the May 1 transfer portal closing in a report detailed by 247Sports. But Worthy ultimately decided he would stay in Austin.