Michigan State's availability report for the matchup against UCLA
The Spartans take a significant defensive hit with several key injuries and a lengthy list of players on the availability report ahead of their matchup against UCLA.
As Michigan State prepares for a noon kickoff against UCLA, the Spartans are dealing with a lengthy injury list impacting all three phases of the game.
On the offensive side of the ball, Michigan State will be without sixth-year wide receiver Alante Brown, freshman tight end Jayden Savoury, junior tight end Brennan Parachek, and starting offensive lineman Stanton Ramil.
For special teams, the Spartans' redshirt sophomore kicker, Tarik Ahmetbasic, is out again and hasn’t been healthy yet this season. Redshirt senior and long snapper Kaden Schickel will also be missing from the Green and White's special teams unit, and he is also yet to dress this season.
Lastly, the defensive unit is taking the largest hit with six players on the injury report. Defensive backs NiJhay Burt, Nikai Martinez and Ade Willie will be sidelined due to injuries. Martinez and Willie are starters in the secondary when healthy. In addition to this, linebacker Marcellius Pulliam, defensive end Jalen Thompson and rush end Anelu Lafaele are out. Thompson is coming off of a big game at Nebraska in which he recorded five tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack.
A Michigan State spokesperson confirms to Spartans Illustrated that Lafaele will miss the remainder of the 2025 season. In addition to Lafaele, Michigan State has already lost several players who have been ruled out for the season, including redshirt defensive back Caleb Gash, defensive back Andrew Brinson IV, redshirt junior offensive lineman Luka Vincic and redshirt freshman linebacker Brady Pretzlaff.
