Michigan State football: Dontavius Nash already making an impact

On Saturday, Michigan State football found themselves in a rough situation. The Spartans were travelling to Nebraska, down two starting defensive backs. Senior Nikai Martinez was out for his third contest, and another senior, Ade Willie, was declared out for the Spartans’ fifth game of the season.However, another senior, Dontavius Nash, traveled with the team to Lincoln.

Nash had been out for the previous four contests with an injury. However, on Saturday, Nash was in for his first game as a Spartan, albeit wearing a bulky hand cast.

Spartan defensive coordinator Joe Rossi spoke to the media on Wednesday, and was very complimentary of the ECU transfer’s play.

In spite of Nash being behind the eight ball, missing camp, they felt confident in trusting him with a big role against the Cornhuskers. Nash played 13 snaps for the Spartans, and his PFF grade ranked him above Devynn Cromwell, who got the start for Michigan State football.

“Dontavius Nash was a kid that missed camp, we felt like we worked him hard and we think he did a good job,” Rossi said. “We can continue to expand his role with more snaps. He’s got ability to cover, ability to blitz. We’re excited to have him back.”

It appears Nash is looking at an expanded role. The senior has a lot of variety with his snaps, playing corner, nickel, and safety during his time as a Pirate. Additionally, Nash saw special teams action on kickoff coverage and punt coverage.

Rossi also mentioned that he felt the Spartans had played their best game covering the slot so far, and that came with a rotating cast of seniors. Armorion Smith, Malcolm Bell, and Nash were the main three Spartans to play nickel on Saturday without Willie fit to play.

Based on how the depth chart had been shaping up in the previous four games, Nash slotted in ahead of Jeremiah Hughes, a junior transfer from LSU.

In good news for the Spartans and Rossi, the UCLA team they are facing has not shown a ton of offensive fire power when passing. Even in their 42-point outburst in an upset over Penn State, UCLA star Nico Iamaleava only threw for 166 yards.

With Nash returning the lineup, and Willie still day-to-day, the ECU senior has a chance to step up even more on Saturday.