Spartans' Late Offensive Injuries Played Major Role in Week 4 Loss

Four of Michigan State's starting wide receivers were sidelined for Saturday night's game, two of which were ruled out just days before the Spartans took the field. It was a key difference in the loss to Boston College.

Michigan State's Antonio Gates Jr. catches a pass during camp on Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, at the indoor practice facility in East Lansing. / Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Michigan State Spartans were stung with multiple injuries that came late in the week, leaving two more starting receivers before its matchup on Saturday night with Boston College. The Spartans fell, 23-19, and were missing several of their offensive skill players.

Freshman stud receiver Nick Marsh was questionable throughout the week and was ruled out late on Thursday afternoon. On Saturday morning, reports came in that sophomore wide receiver Antonio Gates Jr. would also not play. Both injuries are expected to be short-term.

Marsh leads the Spartans offense with 232 receiving yards on just 11 catches, averaging just over 20 yards per catch. He was the X-factor in the Spartans' upset win over Maryland in Week 2 with a 77-yard touchdown grab late in the game.

A couple of major hits for the Spartans totaled four starting wideouts that did not play against the Eagles joining redshirt senior Alante Brown and redshirt sophomore Jaron Glover on the injury report.

“Yeah, it's not ideal to find out for certain that late, but at the same time, if those guys are not full-go during the week, you gotta start making some different plans and we did,” said Spartans coach Jonathan Smith after the loss. “None of those guys were anticipating their season ending.”

The main offensive targets for quarterback Aidan Chiles were redshirt senior wide receiver Montorie Foster Jr. and junior tight end Jack Velling. Foster had four catches for 87 yards, and Velling added 77 yards receiving on six catches.

“We weren't certain on where we were going to be early in the week; later on, we could just tell a few of them were not going to be able to go on Saturday,” Smith said. “So then we started adjusting a little bit, you saw a little bit more of 12 [No. 12 Jack Velling] and a couple of tight ends out there, but we weren't certain until really Thursday night.”

Smith addressed the timelines for both Marsh and Glover. Last week against Prairie View A&M, Marsh left the game with an injury but came back in the second half to finish strong. He was not fully healthy at practice this week, leading to his absence.

“[H]e got dinged during the game, came back in the game last week, and so now, we're hopeful it's sooner than later, and I'm not talking like November," Smith said. "I mean, same with Glove [Jaron Glover], sooner than later."

The Spartans will look to have quick recoveries for several of their impact players as three of their next four games will be against top-25 Big Ten opponents.

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