“We have one’s and one and a half’s so (Hicks is) stuck in between those two, I don’t know what that would be,” Head Coach Mark Dantonio said. “He certainly has earned the opportunity to be on the field, he’s a guy who plays with a lot of toughness, he’s extremely quick, he’s powerful and plays reckless.”

Dantonio added that Jacksonville State’s no-huddle spread offense style will have implications in the playing time split between the two.

Another fresh face listed as a starter for Friday is junior defensive tackle Lawrence Thomas at nose tackle. Thomas entered MSU as a highly touted recruit but has struggled to see the field thus far, and Friday will serve as his first start on the defensive side of the ball.

The starting position was left open after junior defensive lineman Damon Knox went down with an injury, making that an area of discussion throughout camp. Dantonio said freshman defensive lineman Malik McDowell and Craig Evans will also be in the rotation and are expected to see some action in the opener.

On the other side of the ball there was another shake up of the starters with sophomore wide receiver R.J. Shelton listed as the No. 1 guy and ahead of junior wide receiver Macgarrett Kings Jr. at the “F” position. Shelton, who is also found as a third string cornerback on the depth chart, was listed as the starter at the beginning of preseason camp, but Kings Jr. was second in receptions a year ago and expected by many to be a playmaker for MSU.

Kings Jr. was suspended for all of spring practice because of a DUI arrest in April, but Dantonio said he is available and will play on Friday. Kings Jr. is the starting punt returner as well.

Also on offense there has been plenty of talk of position battles for backup spots at quarterback and running back.

The highly publicized battle for the No. 2 quarterback spot appears to be in sophomore Tyler O’Connor’s favor for the time being, according to the depth chart. O’Connor and redshirt freshman Damion Terry have been competing all camp for the spot, with O’Connor listed as the back-up as of now.

When asked about working O’Connor and Terry into the mix on Friday, Dantonio said he “can’t answer that right now” and that as of Tuesday he’s anticipating only junior quarterback Connor Cook playing.

Senior Nick Hill is listed as the No. 2 running back behind senior Jeremy Langford, and sophomore Delton Williams is currently third in the pecking order. Dantonio said Hill played his way into the spot throughout camp but Williams will also see a number of carries because of his running style as a bigger running back.