Bobby Williams’ decision to play it safe and limit sophomore tailback T.J. Duckett’s playing time against Illinois should pay off this weekend.
“T.J. should be ready to go this week,” he said. “He probably could’ve played last week but we thought it would be best to hold him, to rest him and have him ready to go down the stretch.”
The MSU head coach allowed Duckett only one carry Saturday in hopes of giving him time to recover from a sprained shoulder suffered in the Oct. 21 Michigan game.
In Duckett’s absence, the combination of junior tailback Little John Flowers, freshman tailback Tyrell Dortch and sophomore fullback Dawan Moss rushed for 191 yards.
Junior defensive tackle Josh Shaw is questionable for the Ohio State game with a sprained knee he suffered during practice in preparation for the Sept. 16 game at Missouri. He did not suit up against Illinois.
“He’s going to be day-to-day,” Williams said Monday. “He won’t practice today and hopefully he’ll be ready to go this week.
“He was hurt in practice and has been playing with that knee for quite some time. He’s been playing hurt all year and he took a step backwards in the Michigan game.”
This season has been an injury-filled one for Williams, who said he’s never been in such a situation.
“I can’t put my finger on why we have so many injuries,” he said. “They happen for one reason or another and they’re all different. They come on grass and they come on turf, so you can’t blame it on the surface because they’re happening on both.”
Looking to Foster some production
After entering the 2000 preseason camp as a candidate to start at wide receiver, junior Shawn Foster has fallen down the depth charts and lost his punt return duties to freshman receiver Ziehl Kavanaght after struggling in the Oct. 14 Wisconsin game.
The Lansing native only has two catches for 13 yards and a touchdown and hasn’t lined up at receiver in a Big Ten game.
However, Williams remains impressed by Foster’s attitude and work ethic and said he continues to search for ways to get Foster on the field.
“I’ve got a lot of respect for him because the young man comes out every single day and works so hard in practice,” Williams said. “Sometimes when a guy is demoted, he kind of goes in the tank. He hasn’t done that.
“The guy’s been working and working and when a guy does that, some point in time you have to give him a chance to do something.”
Upset specials
Saturday’s game at Ohio State will be the 33rd meeting between the two schools. One of the first memories the MSU-Ohio State matchup brings is the unranked Spartans’ 28-24 upset of the No. 1 Buckeyes in Columbus in 1998.
Williams said he rates that as one of the biggest upsets in the program’s history along with the 1990 MSU-Michigan game where an unranked Spartan squad defeated the No. 1 Wolverines 28-27 in Ann Arbor.
