Regardless of the outcome in MSU’s football game against Indiana on Saturday, one player with the last name Rasmussen won’t be happy.
That’s because sophomore defensive tackle Kyle Rasmussen’s older brother Kemp is the Hoosiers’ starting defensive end.
This game will be the only time the brothers will get a chance to stand on opposite sidelines.
“This is the last time we’re going to get to play each other so it’s kind of for bragging rights - forever,” Kyle said.
That’s why they’ve been looking forward to it for so long, Kemp told The Associated Press.
“I’ve had this game circled on my calendar since last year,” Kemp said. “I’ll be ready for this game.”
And while the matchup creates a conflict of interest for the two players’ parents, they won’t have any problems deciding who to root for, Kyle said.
“We both play defense so it’s kind of like ‘we’ll root for the defense,’” he said.
And as far as what colors to sport during the game, they have that covered too.
“My uncle’s getting a whole bunch of jersies made up, and they’re half Michigan State and half Indiana with ‘Rasmussen’ on the back, so that will be kind of cool,” Kyle said.
The brothers haven’t seen each other much since Kyle graduated from Lapeer West High School three years ago, so seeing each other - even if it’s on the field - will be a treat, Kyle said.
“The most time we probably spend together is probably like a week,” he said. “We see each other when we’re home sometimes, but other than that we don’t spend much time together, we talk on the phone every once in a while.”
As a senior in high school, Kemp played defensive end on Lapeer West’s state championship team, and Kyle, a sophomore, was the starting center.
By the time Kyle was a senior he was playing his brother’s position and most of the Big Ten schools - including his brother’s - were recruiting him.
Kyle almost chose Indiana to be close to his brother, he said.
“That’s one of the reasons I wanted to go to Indiana when I was deciding.” Kyle said. “It was a pretty hard decision for me in the end. But Michigan State was better for me, I felt more comfortable here, and it worked out for me pretty good so far.”
And his statistics show that - so far this season Kyle has recorded 23 tackles. His biggest game came last week against Michigan, after senior defensive end Josh Shaw went down with a season-ending knee injury at the end of the first quarter.
Kyle’s five hits are tied for second on the team, but more importantly, he did it without the cushion of Shaw, senior linebacker Josh Thornhill said.
“I always knew Kyle had something special,” Thornhill said. “And I think after Shaw went down it made him realize how much of a key player he really is”
And Thornhill said it’s important for Kyle to keep it up.
“Shaw is out for the rest of the year so he’s going to have to step up the rest of the year,” he said.
