Embarking on a two-game stretch that, with a pair of wins, could potentially earn Mississippi State an early-December trip to Atlanta for the SEC title game, the Bulldogs will, for at least one of those games, be without a key piece of its defensive puzzle.
Very late Friday morning, MSU announced that starting safety Justin Cox has been indefinitely suspended from the football program. Other than it being related to “an off-campus incident,” no reason for the suspension was given by the school.
However, the Starkville Daily News is reporting that the suspension came a few hours after Cox was arrested and charged following an alleged domestic violence incident. From the Daily News:
Cox was ultimately charged with suspicion of burglary of a dwelling and aggravated domestic violence.
The suspension almost certainly means Cox will miss Saturday’s game against Vanderbilt. It also calls into question the defensive back’s availability for the Egg Bowl a week later, which could very well be the most important MSU-Ole Miss game in the rivalry’s history.
Cox has started eight of the 10 games in which he’s played at free safety this season, including the last six. Cox has four passes broken up and five defensed in 2014.
Cox is in his first season in Starkville after transferring in from the JUCO ranks.