Injuries, Ailments To Keep Eye on for MSU Entering Week 2

Injuries are going to be difficult to track over the first few weeks of the season.

The Big Ten no longer requires its teams to release any availability reports for non-conference games. Once conference play rolls around, teams will post one a day, starting three days before each game (that would mean Wednesday for a Saturday game).

Michigan State head coach Pat Fitzgerald is ruthlessly compliant with that and has skirted around injury updates during press conferences (I'd do the same thing in his shoes, in fairness). There are still a couple of names to keep an eye on, availability-wise, ahead of the Spartans' Week 2 game against Eastern Michigan:

LB Dion Crawford

The biggest absence on Friday was linebacker Dion Crawford. He's a transfer from Buffalo and has been projected to be a key part of the team's defensive rotation. Crawford was in street clothes during MSU's opener against Toledo, though.

Crawford finished with 80 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, and one forced fumble last year at Buffalo while playing outside linebacker. The year before that, Crawford was a very effective pass rusher, racking up 8.5 sacks and 15.0 tackles for loss. Crawford received Third Team All-MAC honors that season.

Brady Pretzlaff's emergence should help offset Crawford's absence. He was a surprise starter during Friday's game, and Pretzlaff only missed one defensive snap during the first game of his redshirt sophomore season. Pretzlaff's five tackles were tied for the most on the team.

LB Jordan Hall

Star linebacker Jordan Hall also got dinged up during the season opener. He came off the field one time holding his right arm, and then came back onto the field with a bulky cast around his elbow. Hall then seemed to get hurt again at another point in the game. Ultimately, he was held to just 25 of 45 possible defensive snaps.

Hall is pretty used to playing through injury, though. He suffered both turf toe and a torn oblique last year and still never missed a game, rarely even missing a snap during the later portions of the season. Still, keep an eye on Hall this Saturday to see how close to 100% he may be.

WR Samson Gash

Another notable player who was unavailable this past Friday was wide receiver Samson Gash. Gash wasn't guaranteed to play against Toledo, but his speed and 4-star status would have made him a candidate. Safety Jonathan Granby, the lowest-rated scholarship player in MSU's 2026 recruiting class, was the only true freshman to play in the season opener -- he appeared on special teams.

Gash's absence may date back to a hamstring injury he suffered over the summer while finishing the track and field season with Detroit Catholic Central. He practiced during fall camp without a non-contact jersey, but there's always a chance he doesn't feel game-ready.

RB Cam Edwards

There is also some wear and tear to worry a bit about with running back Cam Edwards. He finished his Michigan State debut with a whopping 29 touches (27 carries, two receptions) for 105 scrimmage yards and a touchdown. Edwards, a transfer from UConn, took a lot of hits and needed attention on the field at one point, though he returned to the game after that.

Pat Fitzgerald still does (and should) view Edwards as a star, workhorse running back, but MSU would probably be wise to dial the carries down a bit in Week 2. Edwards' 27 carries against Toledo were a career high for him. It's probably best if the Spartans get key reserves Marvis Parrish, Jaziun Patterson, and Brandon Tullis a bit more involved against Eastern Michigan.

LT Ben Murawski

The status of starting left tackle Ben Murawski is another big one. He was out for most of the second half against Toledo, though he did pop back up with the field goal team once later in the game. Murawski is another transfer from UConn known as a mauler in the run game, and he could easily become MSU's best offensive lineman this season.

As for the protocol for what the Spartans do if Murawski isn't available, the plan against Toledo was to move Rakeem Johnson from right tackle to Murawski's spot. Then, Robert Wright Jr. filled in at right tackle for Johnson. Rustin Young and Collin Campbell are two other players on the roster who could play left tackle.

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