It appears that Mississippi State is ready to officially announce John Cohen as its new athletic director.

Various media members, including The Clarion-Ledger’s Michael Bonner, are reporting a 1 p.m. press conference planned for Friday to formally introduce Cohen, who will be replacing former AD Scott Stricklin.

Immediately after Stricklin was announced as the new AD at Florida, reports indicated that Cohen was the lead candidate. On Oct. 12, The Clarion-Ledger reported that Cohen had been hired as Stricklin’s successor, but MSU president Mark E. Keenum strongly denied the report.

This time it appears the Bulldogs are ready to make things official with Cohen, the school’s former baseball coach.