Now that game day is officially here for Michigan State football, that means the weekly availability report has been made public, and there are a few more players ruled out than we expected.
Earlier in the week, Jonathan Smith hinted that two kickers may be out, but Tarik Ahmetbasic was a game-time decision, and so was starting safety Nikai Martinez. Both of those game-time decisions have been announced, and a few other Spartans were also listed as 'out' for Friday's game.
Check out who the Spartans ruled out for Friday's game against Western Michigan:
MSU AVAILABILITY REPORT:
— Jacob Cotsonika (@jacobcotsonika) August 29, 2025
S Nikai Martinez is OUT
Kickers Martin Connington and Tarik Ahmetbasic are also OUT, which means Michigan State will ride with third-stringer Blake Sislo. pic.twitter.com/czTlDaZQxI
It looks like there are some surprises there in the "out" category. We knew that Tarik Ahmetbasic was likely going to be out as well as Martinez and Martin Connington, but we hadn't heard of some of these other names mentioned. Kaden Schicken was also an expected name on the list, but I didn't expect to see Brennan Parachek, Andrew Brinson IV, and Jalen Satchell.
Jack Velling was hampered by a foot injury during fall camp, but it looks like he's not the only tight end dealing with injuries. Parachek's absence could make way for freshman breakout candidate Jayden Savoury.
The Spartans will be short-handed for the opener, but there are no real concerns outside of the kicking game where Michigan State will have to rely heavily on a third-stringer in Blake Sislo.
Let's hope this game doesn't come down to a kick because that would put a lot of pressure on Sislo who has no experience.
Hopefully all these guys are healed up for Week 2 against Boston College.