Michigan State football: Who’ll step up after Darius Snow’s season-ending injury?

Darius Snow is out for the rest of the season, so who could step up for the Michigan State football star after his injury?

Watching Darius Snow get helped off the field in the first half of Michigan State football’s opener against Western Michigan was pretty much a nightmare scenario.

The junior defender had just switched positions from safety/nickel to linebacker and he was expected to have a big year after being one of Michigan State’s defensive players in 2021. His injury in the first half of the Western game was obviously serious, however, as he couldn’t put even an ounce of weight on his leg.

It was later reported that he was seen in a wheelchair with a towel draped over his face which is usually a sign of both a serious injury and also no timetable for a return.

Snow had to be gutted — and so was the rest of the fanbase.

On Monday, Mel Tucker announced that his junior linebacker would miss the rest of the season due to the injury.

Losing him for the year is going to hurt because he’s a heck of a leader along with being a great defender. That just means someone is going to have to step up in his absence and assume both of those roles.

Who’s is going to be?

If the opener is any indication, an early favorite would have to be Ben VanSumeren. I honestly didn’t think I’d ever be typing that out, but the senior linebacker and former Wolverine looked like a completely different player in the opener, recording a team-high 11 tackles and he was all over the field. He was fast, aggressive, and didn’t make many mistakes. He’d be the perfect replacement on that two-deep for Snow.

Along with VanSumeren, I liked what I saw from Aaron Brule and Cal Haladay, obviously. The linebacker spot has a lot of depth and there are only two starting spots, so we’re going to see plenty of those guys along with Ma’a Gaoteote and maybe even some Jacoby Windmon getting some snaps at a stand-up position after moving over to end.

Snow is going to be missed on this defense, but the opener had to ease some concerns about losing some depth at linebacker with VanSumeren really stepping up.