STARKVILLE — If Mississippi State football coach Dan Mullen felt any added stress following a week that included two of his players being arrested and a nationally publicized incident involving quarterback Dak Prescott, he didn’t show it Tuesday.
In the aftermath of MSU’s first spring football practice, which ended late Tuesday afternoon, Mullen was smiling and energetic as he spoke to assembled media, looking nothing like a coach who had a pair of players arrested during a 24-hour span late last week.
“Any time that any of our players are accused of anything, we thoroughly investigate it,” said Mullen. “We don’t rush to the headlines.”
The latest headline involving MSU players broke on Tuesday morning. A report on SBNation, a national sports website, indicated that affidavits had been sworn out against MSU freshmen Brandon Bryant and Grant Harris for a Feb. 25 incident that emenated from a snowball fight. The affidavits, filed by Jackson-based attorney Rocky Wilkins on behalf of alleged victim James Meyers, allege Harris of felony assault and Bryant of simple assault.
The affidavits came a day after it was reported that fellow MSU freshman Elgton Jenkins, an offensive lineman from Clarksdale, had been arrested and charged with simple assault. The SB Nation report indicated Jenkins had been wrongly arrested.
The reaction from MSU was swift.
A release was sent out by the university that featured a statement prepared by MSU spokesman Sid Salter, which read: “While Mississippi State University normally does not comment on legal matters, a post today on the website SB Nation merits a response.
“The post, which contains factual errors that call into question the credibility of the overall post, in great measure represents only the claims and assertions of the personal injury attorney and fails on a number of levels to accurately portray the actions of the university, the MSU Police Department, the MSU Athletics Department and our students.
“At this point, there exists significant confusion as to the actual facts of this incident. The university will continue to interact appropriately with law enforcement and the judicial system as these facts are sorted out in a manner that protects the rights of all MSU students.
“On March 4, 2015, MSU received notification of a potential civil legal claim from a Jackson personal injury lawyer regarding activities subsequent to an apparent snowball fight among MSU students on the evening of Feb. 25, 2015.
“MSU, our university police, our Athletics Department and all others in a position of authority have fully cooperated in this ongoing investigation and will continue to do so. Claims to the contrary simply are not accurate.
“The university will not be drawn into a scenario of litigating this matter in the press or online and will have no additional comment on this matter at this time.”
Mullen, who sent his team through a two-hour spring practice late Tuesday afternoon, was also quick to respond.
“We want to get a full thorough investigation of what goes on,” said Mullen. “We cooperate with all the authorities involved and then when we get to the bottom of the reality of situation then we’ll look at discipline issues.”
The affidavits against Bryant and Harris were the latest in a week full of less-than-ideal news emanating from MSU’s football program, including two incidents that took place on Spring Break.
Sophomore wide receiver De’Runnya Wilson was arrested Friday night and charged with second-degree possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia in his home state of Alabama. On Tuesday, Wilson was at MSU’s practice but he spent most of the day confined to “The Pit,” the roped-off area that houses injured players who go through individual workouts for the duration of practice.
Then there was Prescott, who was seen on a trio of videos that went viral following an alleged attack in Panama City Beach that saw the junior quarterback and two teammates — Damian Williams, Torrey Dale — being punched and kicked by multiple attackers.
Mullen was asked about any residual effects of Wilson’s arrest and Prescott’s altercation.
“We always tell them to behave, and we want to develop them, however, it was spring break,” said Mullen. “They were away from campus. Some of the guys went to their hometowns, and others just all over the country. There were a lot of different things going on, and with the two incidents we had, we could not control that. I mean you can lock them in their house, but they are kids, they want to go out and want to have fun. Dak was with friends and De’Runnya was at home. You try to get guys to make good decisions, but they are college kids.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brandon Walker on Twitter @BWonStateBeat
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