East Lansing, Mich. – Michigan State listed seven players as “out” for its game against Prairie View A&M on Saturday: wide receiver Alante Brown, wide receiver Jaron Glover, defensive back Dillon Tatum, cornerback Chance Rucker, safety Khalil Majeed, guard Kristian Phillips and defensive end Avery Dunn. 

Michigan State did not list any players as “questionable.”

Glover, who started Michigan State’s first two games of the season, exited last week’s contest against Maryland with an injury and did not return. Antonio Gates Jr. entered the game in his place and caught one pass for seven yards on two targets. 

Michigan State’s coaching staff expected to be without the remaining six players. Rucker also left last week’s game against Maryland, and Smith confirmed on Monday that he will miss 6-8 weeks with an upper-body injury. 

Brown, Tatum and Majeed all sustained injuries during Michigan State’s week one game against Florida Atlantic. Phillips appeared on the Spartans’ injury report ahead of the Maryland game. Michigan State head coach Jonathan Smith described each of their injuries as “long-term,” but, for the first time this season, Michigan State has only distinguished Phillips and Majeed as players who are out for the year. 

Dunn, meanwhile, has yet to take the field for the Spartans due to injury. 

Jake’s take

Michigan State will again look for Gates to step up in place of the injured Glover. There’s a chance Glover only misses one game, as Smith did not express any initial long-term concerns when discussing Glover’s injury on Monday. But the Spartans would benefit from a long-term depth standpoint if Gates can step into a larger role and perform well against Prairie View A&M.

Aziah Johnson and Jaelen Smith could also receive an extended look at receiver on Saturday. If the game allows, freshmen Austin Clay and Jaylan Brown could receive some playing time, too. 

Elsewhere on offense, will Michigan State continue to start guard Gavin Broscious in place of the injured Phillips? Broscious, who competed with Phillips for the starting right guard position during fall camp, received his first taste of college football action as a starter in last week’s road game against Maryland. But reserve center/guard Dallas Fincher started the second half of that game and was on the field for Michigan State’s game-winning drive. It will be interesting to see if Broscious and Fincher continue to split time, or if one of them takes hold of the starting job as the season progresses.

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