EAST LANSING – Following a bye week, there’s good and bad news for Michigan State’s team health.
Linebacker Wayne Matthews, who was taken to the hospital by ambulance following a scary injury in a Sept. 20 loss at USC, has a chance to play on Saturday at Nebraska, coach Jonathan Smith said on Monday. Defensive lineman Quindarius Dunnigan and safety Nikai Martinez are also questionable after being hurt against the Trojans.
On the flip side, starting left tackle Stanton Ramil is out for about a month, Smith said, and backup linebacker Brady Pretzlaff is done for the season.
“It’s that time of year,” Smith said, “you get into the middle of the season and bumps and bruises, next guy up and all of that.”
Matthews took a high shot attempting to tackle USC running back Waymond Jordan in the first half of a 45-31 loss and was down on the field for almost 10 minutes being looked at by trainers. The fifth-year senior was placed on a backboard, carted off the field to an ambulance and taken to the hospital for testing but was released in time to fly home with the team that night.
“Thank you for all your prayers and support!” Matthews wrote on social media the day after being injured. “I’m doing a lot better now! I’ll be back in no time.”
Matthews may not even miss a game as the Spartans (3-1, 0-1) head to Nebraska (3-1, 0-1) on Saturday (4 p.m. ET, FS1) looking to pick up their first Big Ten win of the season.
“He actually was able to move around late in the week,” Smith said of Matthews. “It was nice having a bye for him to adjust so he’s been able to lightly practice. We’ll see how it goes through the week but he’s got a chance to play this Saturday. Same with Nikai and Quindarius, I think they have a chance this weekend.”
After starting linebacker Jordan Hall was disqualified for targeting, Matthews took over with the green dot on his helmet for communication. Then he was done for the night and Pretzlaff was unavailable after being injured in the previous week’s win against Youngstown State.
Martinez, who missed the first two games of the season due to a shoulder injury, and Dunnigan were injured in an accidental collision in the opening half at USC and didn’t return but practiced lightly on Sunday. Ramil was hurt in the first quarter in Los Angeles and done for the game as Rustin Young played the rest of the way. Ashton Lepo and Conner Moore also have previous experience at left tackle.
“That’s been the conversation, kind of what our best answer is going to be over there,” Smith said while talking about the possibilities. “I can’t say today how exactly we’ll play that out and probably won’t tell (Nebraska) Coach (Matt) Rhule right here on a Monday but we’ve got some options.”