HOOVER, Ala. — The legal system may have to run its course before Mississippi State football coach Dan Mullen will decide punishments for senior running back Anthony Dixon and sophomore tight end Marcus Green.
Dixon was arrested last Saturday night in Starkville for driving under the influence of alcohol, careless driving and not having proof of insurance, while Green was arrested on July 15 for possession of marijuana.
Mullen doesn”t anticipate handing out any punishment until the judicial process plays out.
“There may be some punishment there as well,” Mullen said. “After that, we”ll see where we”re at.”
Dixon”s court date has been set for August 17.
There are several options open to Mullen as far as punishment.
Mullen wants to investigate each case and find out the details before making a decision on discipline. It comes down to what gets the attention of the player.
“There”s some that will run guys to death — just run them, run them, run them, run them,” Mullen said. “There are some guys who could run forever and it”s not really that big a deal. There”s are different things you do and for us, we”re going to handle each one individually.”
Mullen didn”t rule out a suspension that could lead to missed playing time for Dixon and Green.
“There”s a chance that will happen and that”s obviously a big one because kids love to play,” Mullen said. “The opportunity to miss gametime is a big punishment for some of these.”
Dixon came out with an apology Monday afternoon and was sorry he let teammates, coaches and fans down.
Although the situation isn”t a good one, MSU junior offensive tackle Derek Sherrod said the team still supports Dixon.
“It”s always a disappointing thing when something like that happens,” Sherrod said. “Every case has a different way of being dealt with. That”s why we started our leadership council and that”s how we are going to handle it, within the team basically.”
Memorable moment
It wasn”t an uncommon thing Wednesday afternoon to see Sherrod began most of his answers to reporter”s questions with a laugh.
That doesn”t mean the former Caledonia High School player wasn”t taking his responsibility seriously.
Sherrod wanted to make sure everyone knew he was embracing every aspect of the experience.
“This is a pretty prestigious moment and I don”t think I”m ever going to forget this,” Sherrod said.
Mullen chose underclassmen in Sherrod and junior linebacker K.J. Wright to represent the Bulldogs at SEC Media Days.
It”s the hope of Mullen that Sherrod can become more of a vocal leader of the offense after exposed to the media.
“If you”ve met Derek, he”s a little bit of a shy guy,” Mullen said. “Maybe this will break him out of his shell.”
Canon the Mississippian
Mullen didn”t want to leave any doubt about where he wants his son Canon to call home.
Being a native of Manchester, N.H., Mullen made sure that people knew that Canon, who was born in Starkville on Feb. 13, is from Mississippi.
“He”s not a Yankee like me,” Mullen said. “He was born (in Starkville) so he”s safe.”
Arkansas claims Dallas
Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino discussed the importance of the team winning all its home games.
Petrino said the Razorbacks feel like they have three different home fields this season.
Arkansas plays five games in Fayetteville, two in Little Rock and one in Dallas.
Petrino knows Dallas is located in Texas, but had a particular reason for putting emphasis on that as a home game.
“Since Jerry Jones (the owner of the Dallas Cowboys) is a graduate of Arkansas, we”re claiming that as a home game,” Petrino said.
Passing the torch
Kentucky head coach Rich Brooks doesn”t know when he will step down, but he believes the time is closer than ever before.
Brooks announced prior to last season that he would eventual hand over the head coaching position of the Wildcats to Joker Phillips.
“The handoff is in waiting and we”ll hand it off when the waiting is over,” Brooks said. “I”m not sure exactly.”
Brooks joked that it mostly depended on how much the players attended class and how they handle other off-the-field things that can cause stress for a coach.
SEC on television
A sense of pride for the SEC is the new long-term television agreement with CBS and ESPN.
In the 15-year term of the deal, ESPN will carry more than 5,500 events. That”s an average of 365 events per year, one for each day.
As far as football, the conference owns the rights to be televised on CBS, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN Classic, FOX SportsNet and Comcast.
Mississippi State announced Wednesday that the Sept. 5 opener with Jackson State would be televised by ESPNU at 2:30 p.m., while road games at Auburn on Sept. 12 and Vanderbilt on Sept. 19 would both be FOX SportsNet telecasts at 6 p.m.
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