Michigan State week four availability report: USC
Michigan State listed the following players as “out” for Saturday’s game against USC: wide receiver Alante Brown, linebacker Brady Pretzlaff, offensive guard Luka Vincic, cornerback Andrew Brinson, kicker Tarik Ahmetbasic, defensive back Caleb Gash, long snapper Kaden Schickel and defensive tackle Jalen Satchell.
Brinson, Gash and Vincic’s injuries are season-ending. Vincic went down with an injury last week against Youngstown State. The Spartans listed zero players as “questionable.”
Michigan State did not list wide receiver Nick Marsh and running back Makhi Frazier as “out,” meaning they will presumably play against the Trojans. Both players left last Saturday’s game with injuries and were described by head coach Jonathan Smith as game-time decisions.
Michigan State removed offensive tackle Ashton Lepo from the injury report. Spartan offensive coordinator Brian Lindgren said earlier this week that Lepo would return for the game against USC.
Brown, Pretzlaff and Vincic are new additions to the injury report. Like Vincic, Brown sustained his injury last weekend. Smith said Brown became injured during pre-game warm-ups ahead of the Youngstown State game. Coaches did not provide any information about Pretzlaff’s injury.
Michigan State will rely heavily on starters Jordan Hall and Wayne Matthews at the inside linebacker position. Marcellius Pulliam, Darius Snow or Semaj Bridgeman could see time as back-ups with Pretzlaff unavailable.
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With Vincic out, Michigan State will count on Gavin Broscious, Caleb Carter and Kristian Phillips to continue providing at offensive guard. Running back Elijah Tau-Tolliver, among others, could see time at kick returner with Brown unavailable.
Martin Connington will remain the primary option at kicker as Ahmetbasic misses his fourth straight game.
Schickel will also miss his fourth straight game while recovering from a torn ACL that he suffered against Michigan last season. True freshman Jack Wills will continue to fill in for him.
Brinson (out for the season) and Satchell will also miss their fourth straight games. The Spartans are plenty deep at cornerback and tight end, so their losses should not be felt as significantly.
Josh Eaton, Chance Rucker, Aydan West and Malcolm Bell should again see considerable time at cornerback, while Alex VanSumeren, Grady Kelly, Ben Roberts and Ru’Quan Buckley are the names to watch at defensive tackle.
