EAST LANSING – Michigan State will be shorthanded for Friday’s season opener against Western Michigan.
Starting safety Nikai Martinez, long snapper Kaden Schickel and kickers Tarik Ahmetbasic and Martin Connington are among the seven players listed as out on the pregame availability report.
The Spartans kick off season two under coach Jonathan Smith at 7 p.m. against the Broncos in East Lansing.
The other players unavailable for Michigan State are defensive back Andrew Brinson, tight end Brennan Parachek and defensive tackle Jalen Satchell.
Martinez was limited during fall camp and Smith on Monday called him a game-time decision, along with Ahmetbasic.
Michigan State heads into the season with an extremely dicey outlook at kicker with Ahmetbasic and Connington – expected to compete for the starting job to replace Jonathan Kim – sidelined by groin injuries during fall camp. That means the Spartans will turn to Blake Sislo, a Division II walk-on who didn’t play in three years at Davenport and took last season off. He has never appeared in a college game but Smith praised his performance in practice.
Schickel, who suffered a torn ACL last season, will be replaced by Velling for long snapping, Smith said earlier in the week.
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
