4 Spartans to Step Up for Injured Teammate Against USC
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EAST LANSING --- Michigan State head coach Jonathan Smith announced a few injury updates on Monday afternoon on four different players, and all four certainly will have an impact on the team against No. 25 USC this Saturday and beyond.
- "We've got a couple tough ones," he said. "Luka Vincic will be a long-term injury, probably won't see him the rest of the year --- which is tough, with a battle in there (on the offensive line). Alante (Brown) actually dealing with a pre-game injury, and that's going to be a longer-term injury as well, so he won't be around for a minute.
"Both Nick Marsh and Makhi Frazier, we'll kind of see what it looks like at the end of the week, but those two are not anywhere near the other two, in regard to the amount of time."
If Marsh and Frazier cannot play against No. 25 USC on Saturday, that will be four new, important players missing that Michigan State will have to try and others fill in for.
In the event that that's the case, these are the four players who will likely get some additional chances.
Kristian Phillips
With Vincic now unavailable, Kristian Phillips will likely be the one to get his vacant snaps. Phillips has already played a fair amount of right guard this season and was still in an ongoing competition for that starting spot there.
Caleb Carter has also played right guard a fair bit, but has seen more snaps on the left side. Phillips has only played on the right side so far this season.
Chrishon McCray
Chrishon McCray will have to fill in for two different injured Spartans: Brown and Marsh (if it comes to that).
The Kent State transfer already had to fill in for Brown as one of MSU's kick return guys against Youngstown State, though he never got the chance to run with it. It will probably be him and Elijah Tau-Tolliver back there for a while.
As for stepping up with Marsh potentially out, McCray naturally goes from MSU's third wide receiver in the passing game to second. He'd still likely work out of the slot, but quarterback Aidan Chiles would certainly be quicker to look to him for some targets if Marsh is removed from the equation.
Elijah Tau-Tolliver
Speaking of Tau-Tolliver, he will certainly get an uptick in carries if Frazier cannot go on Saturday.
For MSU's duo of Frazier and Brandon Tullis, the Spartans usually look to Frazier for potentially bigger, more explosive plays; Tullis is the bruiser. Tau-Tolliver was able to flash some of Frazier's big-play ability when he had a 22-yard touchdown run towards the end of the YSU game, and Michigan State might need him to replicate that against the Trojans.
Evan Boyd
If Marsh ends up not being available on Saturday, the next man up to replace him in Michigan State's wide receiver room is Evan Boyd.
He hasn't recorded a catch yet this season, but he's gotten the most snaps outside of MSU's starting trio of Marsh, Omari Kelly and McCray. Boyd can also play as the X receiver, which is Marsh's role.
Boyd was also a productive receiver as a redshirt freshman at Central Michigan last year. He was the Chippewas' leading receiver through eight games with 302 yards before missing the final four games of the year due to injury.
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A 2025 graduate from Michigan State University, Cotsonika brings a wealth of experience covering the Spartans from Rivals and On3 to his role as Michigan State Spartans Beat Writer on SI. At Michigan State, he was also a member of the world-renowned Spartan marching band for two seasons.
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