Michigan State suffered multiple injuries in its last game at USC on Sept. 20. Coming off of a bye week, MSU head coach Jonathan Smith provided injury updates for several players ahead of the Spartans' game at Nebraska on Saturday.
According to Smith, redshirt freshman linebacker Brady Pretzlaff will miss the remainder of the 2025 season. Pretzlaff's injury occurred before the USC game, as he needed medical attention during the Sept. 13 win over Youngstown State, but was able to walk off under his own power. Pretzlaff missed the contest against the Trojans.
Pretzlaff played in three games in 2025, and recorded four tackles, including one tackle for loss, and two passes defended.
"Brady will not be going the rest of this year due to injury," Smith said about Pretzlaff.
That is not the only bad news. While it is not season-ending, redshirt sophomore and starting left tackle Stanton Ramil is going to miss roughly a month of action. Ramil exited the game against USC early on, playing only nine offensive snaps, and did not return.
"Stanton Ramil's gonna be be a little bit longer," Smith said. "He's closer to a month on that. So he will not be going this week. And, you know, it's that time of year. You get into the middle of the season and, like (I said), bumps and bruises, next guy up and all of that."
With Ramil out, Michigan State has options with how to replace him. Redshirt freshman Rustin Young filled in for Ramil and did an admirable job against the Trojans and could be called upon again. The Spartans could also opt to play redshirt junior Ashton Lepo on the left side, or move starting redshirt junior right tackle Conner Moore to the left side and have Lepo or Young play on the right side. Moore has seen reps on the left side this season and primarily played on the left at his previous school, Montana State. Lepo started all 12 games at right tackle in 2024.
"Can't say today how exactly we'll play that out," Smith said about the tackle options, not wanting to tip off Nebraska's coaches.
Meanwhile, there was good news as well. Smith had a positive update regarding redshirt senior linebacker Wayne Matthews III.
Matthews suffered a scary injury late in the first half against USC. After attempting to tackle USC running back Waymond Jordan, Matthews remained down on the field after the play and required a heavy amount of medical attention. Matthews was then placed onto a stretcher, carted off the field and transported by ambulance to Los Angeles General Medical Center, a Level 1 trauma center.
Additionally, graduate senior defensive end Quindarius Dunnigan and senior safety Nikai Martinez both suffered injuries late in the first half against USC after colliding with each other while attempting to make a tackle. Neither player returned against the Trojans, However, the outlook is good for both of the veteran defenders moving forward.
"Wayne Matthews was able to fly back with us that night of the (USC) game," Smith said. "And again, credit to our medical team, medical staff, thorough, going through protocols on the expertise side of that. Actually, (Matthews) was able to move around late in the week (last week). It was nice to have the bye for him to adjust, and so he's been able to lightly practice. We'll see how it goes through the week, but he's got a chance to play this Saturday.
"Same with Nikai (Martinez) and Quindarius (Dunnigan). I think they have a chance this weekend (to play against Nebraska). Quindarius, both him and Nikai were limited (in practice) yesterday. But we'll see by the end of the week."
Michigan State has already lost redshirt junior offensive guard Luka Vincic, sophomore defensive back Andrew Brinson and redshirt sophomore defensive back Caleb Gash for the season. Meanwhile, sixth-year senior wide receiver and special teams ace Alante Brown is dealing with a long-term lower-body injury that is expected to keep him sidelined for a while, although his exact timeline is unclear.
MSU travels to Lincoln to take on Nebraska at 4 p.m. Eastern Time/3 p.m. Central Time on Saturday. The game will broadcast on FS1.