EAST LANSING – Michigan State football got good news last week on the injury scare to Wayne Matthews III.
The word on Stanton Ramil and Brady Pretzlaff wasn’t nearly as encouraging.
Coach Jonathan Smith on Monday, Sept. 29, said Matthews “has got a chance to play” when the Spartans travel to Nebraska this weekend. The senior linebacker “was able to move around” when the team practiced this past week.
Matthews flew back from Los Angeles with MSU after its 45-31 loss at USC on Sept. 20. He was injured late in the second quarter, left the field on a backboard and medical cart and was taken to LA General Hospital for observation.
Just before Matthews’ injury, both safety Nikai Martinez and defensive end Quindarius Dunnigan collided while making a tackle attempt on the Trojans. Neither returned to the game after going to the locker room before halftime, and Smith said both have a chance to play when the Spartans (3-1, 0-1 Big Ten) head to Lincoln, Nebraska, to face the Cornhuskers (3-1, 0-1). Kickoff is 4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 4 (FS1).
Smith said Ramil, who left the USC game with 50 seconds left in the first quarter because of a lower-body injury and did not return, is expected to miss about a month. He was replaced at left tackle by redshirt freshman Rustin Young, but Smith said both Conner Moore and Ashton Lepo are options as replacements.
Pretzlaff, who injured his shoulder late in MSU’s win over Youngstown State on Sept. 13, will miss the rest of the season, Smith said. The redshirt freshman did not travel to USC.
As for Nick Marsh, who caught two passes for 28 yards against the Trojans, Smith said the sophomore receiver was close to 100% healthy during the game but had been majorly limited during the leadup to the trip. Marsh is expected to be full-go at Nebraska.
Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Wayne Matthews of Michigan State football has chance to play vs Nebraska: Jonathan Smith
Reporting by Chris Solari, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
