By JOEL COLEMAN
sports@starkvilledailynews.com
HOOVER, Ala. – When Dan Mullen took the stage on Tuesday at Southeastern Conference Media Days, it was only a matter of time before the storm came. The first question MSU’s eighth-year leader fielded was an easy one, the equivalent of a straight fastball hummed right down the middle, regarding the importance of wide receiver Fred Ross to MSU’s offense. Yet the thunder rumbling in the distance was the oncoming downpour of the Jeffery Simmons situation.
Before it was over, Mullen fielded five different questions regarding Simmons, the ultra-talented freshman that comes to campus toting the baggage of a March incident caught on video in which Simmons could be seen striking a woman multiple times.