In his weekly press conference, Michigan State Head Coach Mel Tucker addressed the state of Michigan State football's ever-changing roster. Most notably, the hero of Michigan State’s improbable victory against Michigan last year is currently not with the team as they enter the final days of the preseason.
Wide receiver Ricky White and cornerback Michael Gravely, who enrolled in MSU in January, are not participating in team activities at this point, according to Tucker. Both players were absent from the Meet The Spartans event on Monday evening.
Tucker did not specify why the players are not currently with the team.
In addition to certain athletes being missing, competition is still ongoing for a number of starting positions on offense and defense.
“We still do have some battles,” Tucker said. “We tell our guys it’s a fluid situation at every position. I mean, nothing is set in stone. It’s more important what you do today or what you do next as opposed to what you've done in the past. The only way we can continue to get better is to continue to have competition at each position and make sure that we play the players that deserve to play at that particular time.”
Tucker said that the coaching staff would talk about the quarterback battle between Anthony Russo and Payton Thorne throughout the next week and “make a determination” at some point before the game next week.
In the secondary, MSU is returning a number of key contributors from the 2020 season, including team captain Xavier Henderson at safety, but Tucker was steadfast in saying that the competition was still ongoing for starting positions.
“We are working to build depth in the secondary,” Tucker said. “We have guys that can cover. We need to continue to work on our perimeter run force but I feel good about the guys that we have back there. The newcomers are gonna contribute. They are gonna help us quite a bit.”
Tucker mentioned Alabama transfer Ronald Williams as one of the newcomers that could help right away at cornerback.
“He knows how to practice,” Tucker said. “He knows what the expectations are. He’s got the length, he’s got some experience, he has the ball skills. So he has the traits to be able to help us. I’m really glad that he’s here.”
MSU is also losing another wide receiver to the defense. C.J. Hayes replied to former MSU wide receiver Felton Davis III in an Instagram comment that he is making the switch to cornerback for the upcoming season.
Hayes was a standout corner and wide receiver at South Warren High School in Kentucky. He graduated as the school’s all-time leader in receptions and interceptions and it seems like he will be making his return to the defensive side of the ball.
Hayes did not play in the 2020 season due to injury after coming onto the scene as a viable backup option in 2018 and 2019 at wide receiver. Hayes tallied 14 catches for 154 yards over the two seasons in limited action.
At inside linebacker for MSU, there are five athletes that could play, according to Tucker, who once again avoiding giving out any definitive direction on what he and defensive coordinator Scottie Hazelton will do at the position.
“The competition has been healthy and it’s been good for us,” Tucker said. “I feel much better than in the spring at that position.”
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