After originally scheduling preliminary hearings for June 22, Judge Richard Ball ruled in the 54-B District Court on Thursday to push back hearings for the three ex-MSU football players back until Sept. 21.

The decision came during a probable cause conference for the defendants, first reported by Kyle Austin of MLive. Court dockets from 54-B online records were not yet updated by the time of publication.

 Donnie Corley, Demetric Vance and Josh King are all accused of taking part in an alleged sexual assault that occurred during a party at a on-campus apartment in the early hours of Jan. 16. Both Vance's and Corley's attorneys claim their clients are innocent, while King's attorney said there is a "very strong defense" that the alleged incident was completely consensual.

Corley and Vance have been charged with one count each of third-degree criminal sexual conduct, and King faces one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, one count of third-degree criminal sexual conduct and one count of capturing and/or distributing pictures of an unclothed person. 

If convicted, King could face life in prison for the first-degree criminal sexual conduct charge, and up to 15 years for each additional charge. 

Karen Truszkowski, the alleged victim's attorney, was unavailable for comment at the time of publication.

A fourth ex-MSU football player, Auston Robertson, is still scheduled to appear in a preliminary hearing on June 22 in the 55th District Court in Mason. Robertson is accused of allegedly raping a woman in her apartment during an incident on April 9. Robertson was arraigned on April 21, but has since been free on bond.

Stay with The State News for updates.