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More MSU football players opt out of playing

November 18, 2020

The Michigan State football program now is up to five players who have opted out of playing this season due to concerns surrounding COVID-19.

Tuesday, an MSU spokesperson confirmed to The State News that freshman defensive ends Simeon Barrow Jr. and Jasiyah Robinson and redshirt junior offensive tackle Mustafa Khaleefah have all opted not play the rest of the season.

Khaleefah, a Dearborn, Michigan native, hadn't played yet this season, but Mel Tucker confirmed his decision Tuesday in his weekly press conference.

Other members of the team, including OT Jordan Reid and freshman Justin Stevens, opted out back in August, but the trio is the first members of the team to be announced doing so since then.

Reid has played in 39 career games, including 27 starts at right tackle: one in 2017, 13 in 2018, 13 in 2019. He was the only Spartan OL to start all 13 games last season. Coming into the 2020 season, Reid had played in 26 consecutive games — the longest active streak on the roster.

Tucker announced Robinson and Barrow's decision during his press conference Tuesday.

Robinson had yet to see the field this season and Barrow Jr., a Grovetown, Georgia native, hadn't seen a lot of time this season either.

Khaleefah has only appeared in six games over his three season with the program after redshirting in 2017.

In what has been really a war of attrition for many rosters across college football, the news from Tuesday's press conference comes on the heels of the announcements by Marcel Lewis and Anthony Williams Jr. that they both would be entering the transfer portal.

Lewis was among four players when the season was in question to opt out, citing the death of a family member as to why he decided to opt out this year. On Sept. 16, Lewis made the decision to opt back in when more stringent COVID-19 protocols were created.

Both Williams Jr. and Lewis announced their decisions this week, Williams Jr. had only appeared in 13 games over his two seasons with MSU.

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