Jonathan Smith Provides Injury Update on Michigan State football

On Monday, Jonathan Smith spoke to the media for the first time since immediately following the USC game. Michigan State football had a bye week that gave some crucial players, such as Nick Marsh and Makhi Frazier, time to heal up.

It was time for an injury report for the Spartans, with Jonathan Smith and his staff having a chance to reassess some of the Spartans’ injuries during the bye week.

Additionally, Wayne Matthews III, Stanton Ramil, Nikai Martinez, and Quindarius Dunnigan all went down with injuries against the Trojans and did not return to the game.

Currently, Michigan State football has had some attrition on the roster. The Spartans are expecting to miss Alante Brown for a long term injury, specialists Tarik Ahmetbasic and Kaden Schickel are yet to suit up for a game. Additionally, newcomers Jace Clarizio and Dontavius Nash are also yet to suit up for the Spartans due to injury.

This all comes in addition to defensive backs Andrew Brinson IV and Caleb Gash, alongside lineman Luka Vincic, all being confirmed out for the season with injury. The biggest name among these is Vincic, who started one game for the Spartans this season.

With a crucial matchup against Nebraska on the horizon, injury updates were one of the very first questions asked.

Jonathan Smith revealed a few updates on overall player health, as well as diving into updates on a few players in particular.  He called the bye week a good chance for players to rest, before giving specifics.

The trio of Matthews III, Dunnigan, and Martinez were all players ruled as probable for this weekend’s game at Nebraska. Based on Smith’s phrasing, it is a safe assumption to feel more confident about the return of Dunnigan and Martinez than that of Matthews III.

Matthews III was back at practice on Sunday, with the linebacker being called limited.

One more player out for the year, another Spartan out for “a month”

Additionally, Jonathan Smith revealed Stanton Ramil’s injury is a longer injury, calling the sophomore tackle out against Nebraska, and likely needing a month or so to recover. That likely puts the earliest return date for the starting lineman as a home contest against the Michigan Wolverines on October 25.

Smith also said that freshman linebacker Brady Pretzlaff will be out for the season. The second-year player exited the Youngstown State game with an undisclosed injury during the second half, and did not travel to Los Angeles. An MSU spokesperson did not declare Pretzlaff out for the season at that point, but a re-evaluation during the bye week downgraded the Gaylord (MI) product to a season-ending injury.

This hurts the depth, as Pretzlaff was the second-string linebacker that played behind captain Jordan Hall. The Spartans likely rely on juniors Marcellius Pulliam or Aisea Moa to carry the backup duties when needed.

While not the injury news Michigan State football fans wanted to hear, it could have been much, much worse. Check back two hours before kickoff for an official update on the statuses of Martinez, Dunnigan, and Matthews III.