Freshman offensive guard Kevin Jarvis (75) and redshirt freshman offensive tackle Luke Campbell (62) block for a run play during the game against Penn State, on Nov. 4, 2017, at Spartan Stadium. The Spartans defeated the Nittany Lions, 27-24.
Michigan State's left tackle injury woes continue with the loss of Kevin Jarvis.
Jarvis, a junior from Chicago, went down late in the second half of MSU's 10-7 loss to Arizona State. He gingerly walked off the field under his own power and went straight down the tunnel and into the locker room. Jarvis did not return in the second half and was not seen on the sidelines.
"It will probably be a six-to-seven week injury, so I would expect him to be back by Penn State or, for sure, November," Mark Dantonio said at his weekly press conference. "He's not a season-loss guy, but he's out right now, so I thought it would be pertinent enough to not have him on the depth chart."
Jarvis moved to left tackle this season out of necessity, due to injuries to senior Cole Chewins and junior AJ Arcuri. Chewins has been dealing with a back injury this year and hasn't dressed for any of MSU's three games. Arcuri didn't dress against ASU last Saturday.
"Cole and AJ probably remain the same," Dantonio said. "They're both sort of day-to-day. I would just say right now they're out day-to-day."
MSU's depth chart that was released for its upcoming game against Northwestern (12:00 p.m., ABC) has senior Tyler Higby listed as the new starter at left tackle with true freshman Devontae Dobbs as his backup. Higby filled in for Jarvis against the Sun Devils.
As a junior last season, Higby started all 13 games on the offensive line for the Spartans, playing two at center, three at left tackle and eight at left guard. He ranked second on the line with 29.5 knockdowns.
"I thought Higby went in there and played pretty well from everything that was given to me and indicated to me, so he's first man up, but I will expect for Dobbs to possibly play," Dantonio said. "He's gotta get ready to play, so there will be a little more sense of urgency, maybe."
Dobbs has played in only one game this season — against Western Michigan — entering late in the fourth quarter after the Spartans had created a significant lead against the Broncos.
MSU also listed freshman linemen J.D. Duplain and Nick Samac as backups to Luke Campbell at left guard and Jordan Reid at right tackle. Redshirt freshman Jacob Isaia also made his first appearance on the two-deep, listed as the backup for Matt Carrick at right guard.
"All three of those freshmen have been working with the two's and have been exclusively working on the second unit," Dantonio said."What we've done is spread the other guys around on the first unit and had them playing different positions. So, I think those guys are prepared, whether they play this week or not will remain to be seen depending on how we are playing, depending on injuries, things of that nature. But all three of those guys have been up with us really through the whole month of August and then into September here."
Hoosiers for Homecoming
The Big Ten Conference announced Monday that MSU's homecoming game against Indiana on Sept. 28 is slated for a 3:30 kickoff on Big Ten Network.
The Spartans have won the last two matchups against the Hoosiers, including a 35-21 victory in Bloomington, Indiana last year. MSU has also won nine out of the last 10 meetings against Indiana, with the lone loss occurring in 2016.
This story will be updated when more information is announced.
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