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6 Days Until SEC Football
MIRANDO RIGHTS: THE NCAA INVESTIGATION OF MISSISSIPPI STATE
'And by "unforeseen personal issues," I mean a monthslong NCAA investigation'
They lied. Well, maybe that's not fair -- after all, "unforeseen personal issues" could be the need to get out of town before the NCAA puts you in the collegiate hoosegow. But it looks very much like former Mississippi State receivers coach Angelo Mirando quit because of an NCAA investigation -- and the not the small kind of NCAA investigation.
"That's been going on for the last several months," Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen said following Thursday's practice. "I'm not able to comment on any of that."
The whole thing raises more questions than it answers (especially since the only question it really answers is why Mirando quit). Is this just an Angelo Mirando issue, or does it involve other Mississippi State coaches? Was letting Mirando resign part of an effort to cut back on the penalties coming from the NCAA? (Common sense says that's likely, but we don't know.) For that matter, is this a Mississippi State thing or are there other schools that could get drawn in?
In any case, it's an incredibly messy thing to have to be dealing with a week and a half before football season begins.
Dan Mullen doesn't like Joe Schad
And, really, that's not exactly a rare trait in college football circles, but it always strikes me as irksome and petty when a head coach takes a swipe at a reporter. In this case, Schad seems to have earned Mullen's ire by name Will Redmond as a player potentially involved in the investigation.
MSU coach Dan Mullen would not comment Tuesday on whether Mirando’s resignation is connected to the NCAA’s inquiry, but questioned ESPN reporter Joe Schad’s initial report, which included Redmond’s name.
"I would try to get a little more reliable source than Joe Schad," Mullen told reporters.
Mullen also took a shot at Schad for listing him as a candidate for the Penn State job. Which is a little bit odd. (Was Mullen disappointed that he didn't get a call from Penn State? Or did he get a call from Penn State?)
So your takeaway here is that the NCAA is investigating something at Mississippi State. And Dan Mullen's response can be summarized as "I'm rubber and you're glue ... "
Welcome to the program, coach
The replacement for Mirando is Tim Brewster, whom you currently know as former head coach at Minnesota. Given his penchant for, um, interesting ways of saying things, you will likely know him for something else by the time the season is over.
OTHER NEWS
We'll find out what this is about eventually
The thing about football teams is that they are sort of like White Houses: Nothing stays leak-free for long. But for now, all we know is that Da'Rick Rogers is out at Tennessee and that he's not expected to come back. That's all Derek Dooley will tell us for now.
Dooley declined to elaborate on the details of Rogers' infraction, other than to say "recent events" led to the suspension. Messages left on Rogers' cellphone were not returned Thursday. Hal Lamb, Rogers' high school coach in Calhoun, Ga., said he didn't know why Rogers had been released.
The timeline on all of this is what makes it interesting. Dooley denied at his preseason press conference that Rogers would be suspended. Then, he tells Rogers on Wednesday that Rogers was suspended. That indicates that something likely happened in the interim, but we don't know what. Yet.
Oh, hi, Rajion Neal
By the way, Tennessee also has a starting running back now. In case you're interested in things like that.
Ken Malcome will start at running back for Georgia
Or at least Mark Richt says that he's "pretty sure" it will be Malcome.
And Kiehl Frazier is your starting Auburn quarterback
This is only "news" in the sense that it's official, but there you have it.
Nothing to worry about for the moment
Connor Shaw had back spasms. If we're still writing about this in a few days, then it will be something to worry about.
We'll start worrying when he calls in the drones
Joker Phillips goes all George W. on us.
"Big Blue Nation, I’m challenging you," Phillips said. "You’re either with us or against us."
Thoughts and prayers: Mal Moore
The Alabama athletics director was briefly hospitalized for an irregular heartbeat.