Michigan State football coach Jonathan Smith addressed the media on Monday for his weekly presser ahead of the Nebraska game, and he gave some positive — and negative — injury updates to some key players.
Smith spoke about Brady Pretzlaff being ruled out for the season after surprisingly appearing on the USC injury report. He didn’t address what the injury was, but said the redshirt freshman won’t be back.
The second-year head coach also said that Wayne Matthews III could be back as soon as this weekend along with Quindarius Dunnigan and Nikai Martinez who were all banged up against USC. Those were some incredibly positive updates that not many fans expected, especially after seeing Matthews carted off the field against the Trojans two weekends ago.
However, he provided another negative update to really bring fans back down to earth. Another offensive lineman has been injured and will miss an extended period of time.
Stanton Ramil won’t be back for at least a month, per Smith.
Jonathan Smith: "Stanton Ramil's injury will be longer term, he will be out for closer to a month. He will not play this week."
— Emmett Matasovsky (@E_Matasovsky57) September 29, 2025
With Ramil out for the next month, or so, it sounds like we’re going to see a lot more from younger guys like Rustin Young, which is more than welcomed by fans. The offensive line could use a shot in the arm, and Young is one of the best young players in the position group, and he held his own against USC when Ramil went down.
Now, we’re going to see extended snaps from Young. He could end up playing himself into the starting lineup for good. This is the perfect opportunity for him.
And when Ramil does come back, the line could get even stronger.
The Spartans are now down two starters on the line.