Michigan HC Sherrone Moore shares striking remark while addressing Kalel Mullings’ role in brawl against MSU

In the aftermath of the Michigan Wolverines' (5-3) 24-17 victory over the Michigan State Spartans (4-4) on Saturday, a brawl broke out. Michigan tight end Colston Loveland and Michigan State edge Anthony Jones were at the center of the conflict.

In the replay, Jones was seen playing through the whistle on a kneel-down snap, which caused Loveland to head-butt him. Jones then retaliated by taking a swipe at Loveland. It turned into a small melee in the midfield, with several members of both teams getting involved, including Wolverines running back Kalel Mullings.

Based on some angles of the incident, it looked like Mullings kicked a Michigan State player who was on the ground. Initially, Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore did not comment on Mullings because he did not see what happened. However, in an interview on Wednesday, he defended Mullings.

"There's things out there about him. He was one of the guys who was trying to be a superhero," he said.

However, while Moore defended Mullings by saying that he was only trying to defend his teammates, he did not support the altercation as a whole.

"The postgame skirmish, just unacceptable, not how we carry ourselves but we will address that internally. That's not how we represent the University of Michigan, the Brock M or the winged helmet. We will take care of that so it will never happen again," he added.

Not the first time Michigan vs Michigan State rivalry game has been overshadowed by controversy

Two years ago, after the game, several University of Michigan players skipped up the tunnel after their win. They did so while several Michigan State players were heading to the locker room. Things quickly became violent as kicks and punches were thrown. The incident resulted in seven of the eight Michigan State players involved having charges brought against them, six misdemeanors and one felony.

Last year there was a sign-stealing scandal where the Michigan State Spartans were informed by the Big Ten that they had reason to believe one of their signs had been compromised.

Sixth-year safety Quinten Johnson spoke about the incidents:

"I don't think much had to be said. We kind of know what's acceptbale and what's not acceptable. Some things happened, he addressed it and we worked past it."

The Wolverines will need to get in the right mindset fast, as they have a tough matchup on Saturday against No. 1 ranked Oregon.