Michigan State starting CB expected to miss rest of season due to injury
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Dillon Tatum made the trip to Ohio State and was on the field Saturday night, just not in the role his team hoped.
The Michigan State sophomore starting cornerback wasn’t in uniform due to an undisclosed injury and watched from the sideline as the Buckeyes rolled to a 38-3 win.
“Dillon Tatum, he’s going to probably be out for the rest of the year with his injury,” interim coach Harlon Barnett said after the game, “but he’ll be back strong next year for sure.”
In a challenging season full of adversity and injuries, that’s the latest blow for the Spartans (3-7, 1-6 Big Ten), who have dropped seven of their last eight games. Tatum, a former four-star recruit who appeared in all 12 games as a true freshman last year while bouncing between different positions, settled in as a starting cornerback this fall. He had 45 tackles, including 2.5 for a loss, and a team-high seven pass break-ups over the first nine games
With Tatum out, Michigan State was very thin at cornerback against the Buckeyes due to injuries. Charles Brantley, a returning starter, has missed the last seven games while Marqui Lowery has also appeared in only three games. True freshman Chance Rucker has taken over a starting role and fifth-year senior Chester Kimbrough made his first start of the season against the Buckeyes. Both were faced with the difficult task of attempting to cover Marvin Harrison Jr., an All-American and arguably the top receiver in college football.
Harrison made another case to be in the running for the Heisman Trophy by posting seven catches for 149 yards and a touchdown and ran for a score while playing less than three full quarters.
“He’s a tough matchup, he’s one of the best receivers in the country, so we knew that,” Barnett said of Harrison. “I wish we would have still did some things better, don’t get me wrong, we didn’t want to just give him up some of the things that he did get.”
Barnett replaced Rucker in the third quarter with sophomore Ade Willie, who played most of the second half. Rucker has 21 tackles, one interception and three pass break-ups while appearing in all 10 games this season.
“Chance is going to be a really, really good football player,” Barnett said. “He’s going to be really good. It’s a learning lesson for him.
Michigan State suffered multiple injuries on Saturday night, including to defensive tackle Simeon Barrow and defensive end Zion Young, who both returned to the game. Defensive tackle Maverick Hansen was also injured, as was starting center Nick Samac, who left in the third quarter and didn’t play again as Dallas Fincher took over.
