As controversies pile up, SEC making the wrong statement this offseason

[jbcarol]

Scarborough County: You want to know when you're about to read something bad? Look for the phrase "said in a statement."

If you follow SEC football closely, then you've become all too accustomed to reading those words over the last few months.

Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze said in a statement ...

Alabama coach Nick Saban said in a statement ...

Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin said in a statement ...

Since the offseason began, there has been an overabundance of statements to come out of the conference, and not the proverbial statements that are made on the football field with wins and losses. Instead, we're talking about statements that are vetted by those wearing suits and ties. Vetted because something went wrong and someone has to say something to answer for it.

When Laremy Tunsil's social media feed imploded on draft night, Ole Miss and Freeze prepared a statement on the matter.

When Bo Davis reportedly incurred recruiting violations and resigned, Saban was forced to put out a statement of his own.

When Aaron Moorehead subtweeting of a recruit went viral, Sumlin released a four-sentence statement referring to discipline that would "remain private."

At Tennessee there's a Title IX lawsuit to consider. At Mississippi State, Dan Mullen remains mum on the status of signee Jeffery Simmons, who was allegedly shown on camera assaulting a woman. At Florida, it's almost become an afterthought that the Gators went through spring practice without its former starting quarterback (Treon Harris) and star wide receiver (Antonio Callaway) because of suspensions that haven't exactly been defined.

The same day Alabama announced Karl Dunbar as Davis' replacement, there was another statement from Saban, this time on the dismissal of former No. 1 overall junior college prospect Charles Baldwin for violation of team rules.

("Violation of team rules"; there's another phrase to look for in stories.)

[jbcarol]

Satellite camp saga. Laremy Tunsil. Bo Davis' resignation. Auburn and Alabama player arrests. Crazy offeseason, huh?

So I was all set to use this space to discuss the Las Vegas Over/Unders for the 2016 college football season, or maybe opine a little bit about John Franklin III and Michael Vick.

But then the college football gods dropped a little package on our doorstep with the news that Alabama's Cam Robinson and Hootie Jones were arrested on gun and drug charges in Louisiana early this morning. It's the kind of story we've unfortunately gotten used to reading this time of year, during the gap between the end of spring classes and the beginning of organized summer workouts.

It's too early to say what will happen to Robinson and/or Jones, though it's worth noting that at least one of the charges is a felony. That can't be made to go away all that easily, especially in another state.

At any rate, it's been a wild few weeks. Just in the last month, we've had:

Satellite camps banned, then unbanned

The Laremy Tunsil circus

Bo Davis' resignation

4 Auburn players arrested

The John Franklin/Michael Vick non-troversy

Cam Robinson & Hootie Jones arrested

[jbcarol]

SEC struggles through offseason of investigations, arrests

For the Southeastern Conference, football season can't get here soon enough.

The league that's home to eight of the past 10 national titles has also been home to a large amount of offseason problems. There's been an ongoing NCAA investigation at Mississippi, a Title IX lawsuit at Tennessee and several legal issues that haven't painted the league as college football's best citizens.

Still, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey doesn't believe the league has an image problem.

"The body of work of this conference far outweighs those problems, yet we are attentive to those realities," Sankey said. "We understand when the issues arise, we need to even be more attentive, be that on campus or as a collective group."

Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen was one of the coaches at SEC Media Days who faced some pointed questions on Tuesday. The Bulldogs recently allowed prized recruit Jeffery Simmons to enroll in school and join the football team, even though he's still facing misdemeanor assault charges for striking a woman during a fight in March.

The school announced a one-game suspension for Simmons in June, a decision that was roundly criticized as being too lenient. The league already has guidelines for potential transfers who have serious misconduct in their past, but those rules don't apply to incoming recruits.

Mullen defended the decision, saying that he was "thrilled that we're having Jeffery as part of our family."

Ole Miss — which won 10 games last season, including the Sugar Bowl — has been in the middle of a long-running NCAA investigation that involves the football, women's basketball and track and field programs.

The university has already self-imposed some penalties for football, including scholarship reductions and three years of probation. The NCAA can accept or add to those penalties.

The case could drag on for several more months. Ole Miss asked to delay a hearing before the Committee on Infractions while it looks into draft-night allegations involving former left tackle Laremy Tunsil, who was picked in the first round by the Miami Dolphins.

Other issues the leagues teams are facing:

ALABAMA: The Tide's star left tackle Cam Robinson and reserve defensive back Laurence "Hootie" Jones were arrested in Monroe, Louisiana, in May on drug and weapons charges, but the charges were later dropped after a sympathetic district attorney said he didn't want to "ruin the lives" of the two football players.

Coach Nick Saban has not announced if the players will face discipline.

TENNESSEE: Tennessee recently reached a $2.48 million settlement of a Title IX lawsuit regarding its handling of assault complaints against athletes.

GEORGIA: The Bulldogs have had eight arrests since Kirby Smart became the team's coach in December. Georgia defensive end Jonathan Ledbetter was arrested last weekend for the second time in five months on alcohol-related charges, including misdemeanor DUI and underage possession of alcohol. He'll miss at least two games per school policy.

VANDERBILT: Two former football players — Brandon Vandenburg and Cory Batey — were both convicted on rape charges for a second time. The two players were originally convicted last year following the 2013 incident, but the verdicts were tossed because a juror did not reveal he was a victim of statutory rape.

Two more players still await trial.

[jbcarol]

https://twitter.com/Michael_Carvell/status/807040213239336962

While this guy was busting his butt to prepare to take home this award, I was sitting in an air conditioned man cave, sipping lemonade, and questioning his commitment to brand building.