HOOVER, Ala. — More than a month after Mississippi State allowed prized recruit Jeffery Simmons to enroll in the school and to become a member of its football program, MSU football coach Dan Mullen was pressed to answer questions about the decision on the second day of Southeastern Conference Media Days.
Earlier this year, Simmons was charged with simple assault and disturbing the peace — both misdemeanors — after a video surfaced of him allegedly striking a woman while she was on the ground. MSU announced Simmons will miss the first game of his career, whenever that is.
Talking to media publicly for the first time since the announcement, Mullen received plenty of questions about the decision and the one-game suspension.
“I wasn’t involved as much,” Mullen said Tuesday at Southeastern Conference Media Days. “It was a university decision, but I was just thrilled that we’re having Jeffery as part of our family coming in. As I said, I take a lot of pride as a coach in developing young men to be champions, not just on the field, off the field, and every part of their life to be successful in whatever it is they do, and that’s not an easy process.”
Last month, MSU issued a statement that said Simmons — a five-star defensive lineman — would be evaluated by licensed professionals at the university’s Student Counseling Services and would be required to complete any programs prescribed by that office.
“Based on conversations our staff has had with school, community and church leaders in Noxubee County, this incident appears to be uncharacteristic of Jeffery,” MSU Director of Athletics Scott Stricklin said in the statement. “It’s a highly unique circumstance to administer discipline to a student for an incident that occurred prior to that individual joining our university. However, it’s important that Jeffery and other potential MSU students understand that these type of actions and poor decisions are not acceptable.”
Stricklin said the university expects Simmons to benefit from the football program’s structure and discipline.
“Jeffery will be held accountable for his actions while at MSU,” he added, “and there will be consequences for any future incidents.”
Simmons’ legal issues haven’t been adjudicated. The former Noxubee County High School standout started classes at MSU in June and has been working out with the football team. He signed with the Bulldogs in February before the incident occurred in March.
Mullen received questions about Simmons and the school’s handling of the issue in the main media room and in smaller settings in other parts of the SEC Media Days configuration. Foxsports.com columnist Bruce Feldman included Mullen’s response to a question by SECCountry’s Kyle Tucker in a column he wrote about the subject. The column, which appeared online Tuesday night, says Tucker asked Mullen how he would feel if a member of his family was on the ground being pummeled by Simmons.
“I don’t know,” Mullen is reported to have responded to Tucker. “I don’t think it would be my family. I don’t deal in hypotheticals, really, so, um … but anybody, I mean, in the video, I don’t know that my family would be in that situation, to be honest with you.”
Earlier this year in Destin, Florida, the SEC passed a rule of preventing transfers who were previously disciplined by a different school due to “serious misconduct” from entering the conference. Those include sexual assault, domestic violence, and other forms of sexual violence. There is no rule for incoming freshmen.
Mullen was asked if he would feel responsible if an incident occurred on campus.
“We’re all responsible,” Mullen said. “I’m responsible for all of the actions for every one of my players. I’m responsible as a head coach. I can’t be with them all of the time. All I can do is be a parent. My wife and I try to be parents to every one of the kids in our program.”
Mullen said the university did a “very thorough” investigation into the incident and Simmons’ past. They talked to former teachers, preachers, and people in Macon and in Noxubee County to understand Simmons’ background. From that conclusion, they allowed Simmons to enroll with conditions.
“He’s handled everything really well,” MSU rising senior linebacker Richie Brown said. “It was a mistake, but he’s been working hard and doing really well. He realizes what he did, and you can tell being around him he’s very apologetic and he’s working really hard to prove people wrong.”
A roster released Monday listed Simmons as wearing No. 36. That number is special for MSU. Defensive lineman Nick Bell wore that number until he lost his battle with cancer in 2010. Outside of select players wearing it for one game during the 2010 season, No. 36 hasn’t been worn since.
“That’s not finalized,” Mullen said. “We just kind of assigned it off what locker they’re going to be in and what number that coincides with.”
Simmons was the top signee in MSU’s 2016 class. He picked MSU over Ole Miss and Alabama. After leading Noxubee County High to the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 4A State championship, he was named The Dispatch’s 2015 Large Schools co-Defensive Player of the Year.
In the MSU locker room, there is a sign that says respect women. Mullen was asked how he and members of the program convey that message in allowing Simmons to be a member of the team. Mullen feels like this is an opportunity to help Simmons get on the right track in life.
“One of the things we want to do as a coach is help young men learn to make good decisions,” Mullen said. “We’re always working and coaching our young men on how to make a good decision.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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