MSU starting S RJ Williamson Out for UM Game

Submitted by alum96 on

Huge blow.  The presumed star of the secondary true SO Montae Nicholson has been pulled repeatedly this year as he is not progressing and RJ Williamson was their veteran presence and playmaker back there.   The MSU defense is predicated on safeties making tons of plays, and CBs out on an island.  Looks like Cox will have to move back to safety and MOAR true youngsters will have to be corners.

 

Dantonio said RJ Williamson had surgery on a torn bicep this morning. Out indefinitely, possibly back for last game/bowl game.

— Mike Wilson (@MikeWilson247) October 4, 2015

Backup OT (who was starting for injured Conklin vs Purdue) also gone for year - Finley from Cass Tech.  They had to pull their All American center out to tackle for the Purdue game halfway thru.

MSU now up to three season-ending injuries (Davis, Copeland, Finley) and one long-term (Williamson).

— Mike Wilson (@MikeWilson247) October 4, 2015

Once Narduzzi left it seems their "secret" sauce to avoid injuries left with him!

Dear Rudock, take advantage of the "weird guys".

http://michiganstate.247sports.com/Bolt/Williamson-has-surgery-on-torn-…

The Spartans have already played true freshmen safeties Khari Willis and Grayson Miller in addition to redshirt freshmen Matt Morrissey and Jalen Watts-Jackson.

Dantonio said Miller “will become more active in there” with Williamson out.

Perkis-Size Me

October 4th, 2015 at 8:01 PM ^

Never will wish injury on a kid, and I hope has a speedy recovery, but I'm not sorry that Michigan won't have to gameplan and account for him.

Would obviously rather he not be injured, but injuries are part of the game. If this gives Michigan a better chance at executing a good passing game, then so be it.




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wahooverine

October 4th, 2015 at 8:01 PM ^

What's the status on Conklin?  I feel like strength of MSU's offense is their oline so any edge our front seven can get I'll take.  (I'm not looking past NW, and even if I am it's fine cause I'm just a fan and not a player or coach who are definitely prepping for NW right now).

alum96

October 4th, 2015 at 8:09 PM ^

I whizzed on RCMB... err I mean I whizzed by RCMB and searched on his name and it sounds like no one really knows.  Kieler (their other tackle who was hurt v Oregon) is on crutches still per the commentary so doubtful for UM.  Conklin is more of an open question.  But Finley was the 3rd OT so now they will be down to 4th unless they move their All American center at 6'1 out to tackle full time as they did vs Purdue (they subbed in a RS FR guard to fill the open hole in the line and moved SO Brian Allen to center). 

I guess that could be permanent until Conklin gets back? We did something similar with Glasgow at times in spring.  Conklin should be rusty and not 100% if nothing else.

alum96

October 4th, 2015 at 8:12 PM ^

Nope they lost only Ed Davis, Finley (last week), and one of their corners who they were high on for the year.  Both starting tackles are expected back at some point but open question when.

ypsituckyboy

October 4th, 2015 at 8:17 PM ^

The comments on this thread are weak. We've gotten our butts kicked by MSU for a solid five or six years. Kinda lame to start this chest thumping before we've even done anything noteworthy on the field against them recently.

On a related note, I feel like the MGoBoard has taken a decided turn toward RCMB-ish commenting lately. Too popular perhaps?

JT4104

October 4th, 2015 at 8:30 PM ^

I wish for a speedy and healthy recovery for all their injured guys....with that said its time to find out about all this elite depth their fan base claims they have. this is the first time I can remember that dantonio had to deal with non jail time related issues.

08mms

October 4th, 2015 at 9:25 PM ^

Yeah, I genuinely feel for the them. They have been field really damn good teams for the last couple seasons and between who they had on their roster and the fact that they could have marque wins against Oregon and a top OSU on their resume if things went well, this might have been the best shot they'll have for a while for an NC. I feel a little the same for ND, I'm happy to see rivals crap the bed, but not lose because hard working kids got injured.

BlueinLansing

October 4th, 2015 at 8:36 PM ^

difference in MSU's physicallity on defense.  Not quite as big or as fast as recent versions.  Seemed suseptible to misdirection.  In person they certainly look pretty good, just not great.  Purdue was a boring opponent for them and they and everyone else lost interest at halftime because it was so miserable.

Also that broken leg injury to their offensive linemen really seemed to take some wind out of their sails.  Several players were visibly broken up and maybe even shaken up.  It was a pretty gruesome injury, probably the fastest I've ever seen medical staff get a kid into an aircast and off the football field.  The medical staff looked very worried.

 

To be honest they looked like a team that didn't prepare well for Purdue and with Rutgers next week it would not shock me if MSU is alreay spending a significant amount of perparation on Michigan.

gwkrlghl

October 4th, 2015 at 8:41 PM ^

WVU passed for 300 yds and 4 TDs against Maryland. We passed for 180 yds and 1 TD.

Let's be real. MSU could start 4 walk-ons back there and maybe we'd break 300 yards passing. Maybe.

Bodogblog

October 4th, 2015 at 9:21 PM ^

it's not even so much the passing, but the run defense. if you watch the Purdue highlights, that Nicholson came up and completely whiffed on their long TD run. it's exactly the type of thing that led to his benching, after an offseason of puffing him up as the next Ed Reed.

But they can be hurt in the pass game as well. M has been awful close on a lot of deep balls, it's just a matter of time. as Brian's said, don't overthrow it and give them a chance. but the TEs can hit big plays as well, as the Sparty safeties are tasked with picking up intermediate routes left open by hyper aggressive LBs. Rudock can hit those.