STARKVILLE — What should have been a quiet week for Mississippi State’s football team was anything but.
Eight days ago, MSU let students out for Spring Break and since then, the MSU football team has seen a rash of incidents, including two arrests and a nationally publicized incident involving star quarterback Dak Prescott.
The latest arrest was made public on Monday, when it was reported that offensive lineman Elgton Jenkins, a true freshman from Clarksdale, was arrested last Thursday on a warrant and charged with simple assault.
A 6-foot-5, 280-pound tackle, Jenkins was booked into the Oktibbeha County Jail last Thursday and released that same day. Simple assault is a misdemeanor offense.
MSU police did not release any further details, citing an ongoing investigation.
The Jenkins’ arrest was one of two arrests of MSU players in a 24-hour span.
On Friday night, wide receiver De’Runnya Wilson was arrested, along with three other men (none of them football players), and charged with second-degree possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Wilson, a 6-foot-6, 225-pound wide receiver from Birmingham, was in Alabama when he and the other three men were stopped in River Falls, a town of nearly 600 in Covington County.
Wilson was booked and released Friday night.
Wilson’s arrest occurred on the same night that MSU coach Dan Mullen was in Atlantic City to receive the Maxwell National Coach of the Year award. He was unavailable for comment.
But on Monday afternoon, once Jenkins’ arrest had been reported, Mullen released a statement through the school’s media relations department.
“We have very high standards and expectations for all of our student-athletes,” said Mullen. “Any time an accusation is made against one of our student-athletes, we investigate fully and do not jump to any conclusions.”
The back-to-back arrests had the program back in the spotlight for the wrong reasons. MSU safety Justin Cox was arrested Nov. 25 on domestic violence charges. The charge was eventually dismissed at the alleged victim’s request, and Cox pled guilty to a lesser charge of trespassing.
The bad news for the Bulldogs has not been limited to police blotter.
Last Monday, Prescott, easily the most recognizable member of MSU’s football team, and two teammates were involved in a fight during Spring Break in Panama City Beach.
Several videos of the incident, all between 15 and 30 seconds long, went viral on social media, and show Prescott, along with teammates Torrey Dale and Damian Williams, being attacked by as many as 12 assailants.
The MSU trio opted against pressing charges and cut their Spring Break trip short by returning to Starkville. No legal action is expected to take place regarding the attacks.
All of MSU’s players, including Williams and Jenkins, were back in Starkville Monday, as MSU’s spring football practice officially begins today.
Mullen is expected to meet with the media this afternoon.
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