Michigan State Football: Tyson Smith officially cleared to practice

Junior cornerback Tyson Smith has officially been cleared to practice with Michigan State football after suffering a stroke last year.

Earlier this offseason, Tyson Smith posted something on social media that had Michigan State football fans shaking their heads in shock. The then-sophomore cornerback suffered a stroke during the 2016 season which was a major reason as to why he didn’t contribute as much as he would have liked.

Must Read: MSU Football: Top 5 position battles to watch this fall

It seemed uncertain as to whether he would see the field much this coming see, if at all, especially if he was recovering from a stroke. However, good news graced the junior as he was recently cleared.

At Big Ten media days this past week, Mark Dantonio spoke about the junior cornerback who dealt with a major medical issue in 2016. The head coach admitted that Smith has been cleared to play, according to Jeremy Warnemuende of 247Sports.

"“Tyson is back on the roster, and he’s been cleared to play,” Dantonio said Monday. “So we’ll work him into things gradually, but he’s been cleared to play. Obviously, he’s started for us before, he’s an experienced corner and has a good skill set. So looking forward to seeing how he does, but we’ll take it slow.”"

Obviously it’s something the staff wants to continue monitoring and he likely will go easy in practice for the first few weeks, but in due time, he will be back to full speed. It’s wild to even hear about a young athlete having a stroke, but Smith overcame it quite while.

Next: MSU Recruiting: 5 bold predictions for July

The junior should be on the Spartans’ two-deep this fall as he pushes for playing time with the young starting cornerbacks — Justin Layne and Josiah Scott. He has 18 career tackles and five pass deflections.