Michigan State will take the field against Oregon without wide receiver Alante Brown, wide receiver Antonio Gates Jr., defensive back Ade Willie, defensive back Dillon Tatum, cornerback Chance Rucker and tight end Michael Masunas, per the Spartans’ availability report. All six are listed as “out” for Friday’s game. 

Linebacker Jordan Hall made his first appearance on the availability report of the season. He is listed as “questionable.”

Wide receiver Nick Marsh and offensive tackle Stanton Ramil, both of whom were listed as “questionable” ahead of last week’s loss to Ohio State, are not listed on this week’s availability report and are expected to play. Marsh played sparingly against the Buckeyes, while Ramil did not play at all. 

Michigan State head coach Jonathan Smith said Ramil took some reps in practice on Monday, and that he would continue to evaluate the tackle throughout the week. During his Tuesday radio show, Smith said that Marsh had begun to work back to 100 percent in practice. 

All six players listed as “out” for Friday’s game also missed last week’s game against Ohio State. Brown, Tatum and Rucker continue to deal with long-term injuries. Gates will miss his third consecutive game with an undisclosed injury, while Masunas and Willie will miss their second consecutive games with undisclosed injuries. 

Defensive tackle Maverick Hansen, who left last week’s game with a lower body injury, did not appear on the availability report. Neither did defensive back Angelo Grose nor safety Malik Spencer, both of whom have dealt with minor ailments since the week four Boston College game. 

Offensive guards Kristian Phillips and Gavin Broscious, as well as safety Khalil Majeed, remain out for the season with injury.

Jake’s take

Getting a fully-healthy Marsh back is a big deal for Michigan State. Marsh adds another dimension to Michigan State’s offense and opens things up for redshirt senior Montorie Foster and redshirt sophomore Jaron Glover, who returned from injury last week. Those three, along with redshirt freshman Aziah Johnson, have done a good job of creating space this season. They will face a tough test against a sticky Oregon pass defense on Friday. 

Michigan State’s offensive line will receive a boost with the likely return of Ramil at left tackle. Should he need a break, true freshman Rakeem Johnson, who held his own at left tackle against Ohio State last week, will likely serve as Ramil’s substitute. It will be interesting to see if Johnson gets reps at any other positions on Friday. He has already seen game action at right tackle and right guard, as well as left tackle. 

Whether Hall plays remains to be seen. Should he sit out, Jordan Turner and Cal Haladay, among others, will be counted on to play more snaps than usual. Michigan State has solid depth at linebacker, but Hall has provided Michigan State with some different looks on third down this season. If he doesn’t play, it will be interesting to see how the Spartan staff responds in those scenarios.

If Friday’s game remains competitive for a full 60 minutes, one would assume that Spencer and Grose would stay on the field for a majority of Michigan State’s time on defense. Should the game get out of hand, or should either of them need some rest, true freshman Justin Denson might be one of the first defensive backs off the bench, along with safety Armorion Smith. Denson showed some promise during mop-up time against Ohio State last week. 

Hansen appears ready to go against Oregon, but it will be interesting to see how many snaps fellow d-tackle Ben Roberts will play against his former team. Roberts had his best game as a Spartan with Hansen out last week.

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