Laremy Tunsil meets with media Friday in spite of allergic reaction

It has been a rough 24-hour period for former Ole Miss OT Laremy Tunsil.

In spite of a nightmarish Thursday at the NFL Draft which included hacks of both his Twitter and Instagram accounts, and concluded with him being quickly rushed away from a microphone after admitting he accepted money from Ole Miss coaches, Tunsil was determined to take the next step in his NFL career by holding an introductory press conference with the Miami Dolphins on Friday.

But even that didn’t go as planned, as he was unable to make the introductory press conference due to complications from an allergic reaction.

NFL.com’s Jeff Darlington walked us through that saga, which apparently involved a visit with the Dolphins’ medical staff:

Laremy Tunsil could not make the news conference because of an allergic reaction, according to Mike Tannenbaum. I mean……..

— Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington) April 29, 2016

Dolphins source says team has no reason to believe Tunsil's allergic reaction is related to stress. Tunsil doesn’t think that’s the cause.

— Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington) April 29, 2016

Odd as it may be, I trust those telling me Tunsil had reaction — and that it’s not stress related. And so, that’s where I’ll leave this one.

— Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington) April 29, 2016

Laremy Tunsil is here and ready to speak to the media. I can attest: He did have an allergic reaction. Saw it with my own two eyes.

— Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington) April 29, 2016

Tunsil did finally make it to the podium to take questions on Friday.

He was clearly coached between the time his draft night presser ended and his first Miami Dolphins presser began, because he was not entertaining a discussion about anything related to Ole Miss or Thursday night’s social media snafu.

Here’s a recap of what he said:

Laremy Tunsil: “I don’t know what happened. I just had an allergic reaction.” Maybe something he ate… Says it’s happened before.

— Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington) April 29, 2016

Tunsil not interested in addressing questions about alleged acceptance of benefits at Ole Miss: “I’m here to talk about the Dolphins."

— Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington) April 29, 2016

Asked again about his comments about Ole Miss: "I'm just here to talk about the Miami Dolphins."

— Adam Beasley (@AdamHBeasley) April 29, 2016

Tunsil, on the dangers of social media: "Like I said, I'm blessed. … No character issues at all."

— Adam Beasley (@AdamHBeasley) April 29, 2016

Tunsil on possibly playing guard: Wherever you put me I'll play.

— Adam Beasley (@AdamHBeasley) April 29, 2016

Tunsil on Tannehill: “He texted me yesterday — that’s a sign that he’s got my back."

— Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington) April 29, 2016

Nick Cole

Nick Cole is a former print journalist with several years of experience covering the SEC. Born and raised in SEC country, he has taken in the game-day experience at all 14 stadiums.