Tag: fall sports

Michigan State Football DE Jacub Panasiuk using COVID-19 eligibility to return in 2021

Michigan State pass rusher Jacub Panasiuk will use his COVID-19 waiver to return for a second senior season with the Spartans.

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Senior Jacub Panasiuk was set to play a big role for Michigan State Football this season, but injuries kept him from developing a rhythm, and his absence was especially noticed during the last game of the season against Penn State. On Saturday, Panasiuk strongly implicated on social media that he would be using his COVID-19 eligibility waiver to return for a second senior season with the Spartans.

Here is his announcement, where he noted a date of Oct. 16 and said he has some ‘unfinished business’ to take care of. That’s the date when MSU is set to play Michigan:

Panasiuk originally opted out of the 2020 season due to COVID-19 concerns before deciding to return. He is one of MSU’s top pass rushers and will be a welcome face returning to a defensive line unit that just lost Naquan Jones to the NFL Draft.

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WATCH: Michigan State drops hype video for 2020 Football season

Michigan State Football has dropped their 2020 football season hype video. Watch it here.

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The moment we have all been waiting for has arrived. No, not the season opener against Rutgers. I’m talking about the Michigan State Football 2020 season hype video of course.

All morning, people have been asking me, “where’s the hype video??” “Ohio State dropped theirs, where is ours??” Well my friends, ask and you shall receive. The Michigan State Football account dropped this gem today, and it has a very unique style to it with the music, and let me tell you, it made me want to run through a brick wall.

Watch it below. We’re back baby.

45 Michigan State student-athletes test positive for COVID-19 in latest testing

In the latest round of testing, 45 Michigan State athletes tested positive for COVID-19, a rate of about 12%.

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For Michigan State Football fans excited for the return of the Big Ten football season on October 23rd, you might want to keep an eye on this story. On Friday, Michigan State’s Athletic Department released their latest testing results, and the results were… not great.

Out of 376 student-athletes that were tested, 45 tested positive for COVID-19. That’s a positivity rate of 11.9%, which is a little concerning. If Michigan State wants to ensure the sports seasons launch as expected, they will need to get control over these numbers.

This isn’t exactly surprising, considering there was a large outbreak on campus over the last few weeks. The outbreak also led to Tom Izzo giving the local college population a piece of his mind, calling their handling of the pandemic and social distancing ‘disappointing.’

Michigan State Football starting DE Jacub Panasiuk appears to opt back into season

The presumptive defensive end starter for Michigan State appears to have opted back into the season.

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When we finally received an answer from the Big Ten that football would be returning, it also led to some questions. Mainly, who would be starting for Michigan State Football in this new fall football restart? We have already seen one Spartan opt back into the season when Marcel Lewis announced he would be rescinding his opt out. Now, it looks like the projected starter at the defensive end position, Jacub Panasiuk, will be returning to the fold after initially opting out back in August.

On Friday, Panasiuk tweeted the following, which led to the immediate speculation that he would be returning from his opt out:

This isn’t an official announcement by any means, but it would be weird to tweet something like this and not have it mean he plans to play… only time will tell.

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Gov. Whitmer: Mask order applies to Big Ten football, but that could change

Governor Whitmer’s office said that the mask rules for athletes will apply to Big Ten football, for now.

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On Thursday, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s office released a statement that the mask requirement for athletes in the state applies to Big Ten football in the state, but that a face shield will be sufficient to pass the rules. They also said that the administration is open to changing the order for Big Ten play.

The rule currently requires a face mask for all athletes “except for occasional and fleeting moments.”

The mask rule is just one of many things the Big Ten and Michigan State will need to navigate after they reversed the decision to postpone the season until 2021 in favor of an Oct. 23rd start date.

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Michigan State HC Mel Tucker releases statement on return of Big Ten football

Michigan State football head coach Mel Tucker has released a statement on the Big Ten’s decision to play the 2020 fall football season.

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The Big Ten has officially announced the return of the fall 2020 football season today. The 2020 season will start the weekend of Oct. 23-24. Now, Mel Tucker is finally set to coach his very first game as Michigan State football’s head coach.

Earlier today, Tucker released a statement on the Big Ten’s decision to play. Here is what he had to say:

“From daily antigen testing for all of our players, coaches, and staff to extensive cardiac protocols and protection, the Big Ten Conference and Michigan State are leading the charge to put our players on the field safely and competitively.

Our players have been relentlessly training in our strength and conditioning program and we will be ready to compete. Thank you to all our Spartan fans for your support and the Big Ten Task Force and the medical leaders who got us here today. Go Green!”

Here is the official statement, per Michigan State Football’s Twitter account:

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Breaking: Big Ten officially announces fall college football season beginning Oct. 23-24

It’s official! The Big Ten will be bringing college football back on the weekend of October 23-24.

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After days of speculation, the news is finally confirmed: Big Ten (and Michigan State) football is back!

The Big Ten Conference announced Wednesday morning that the vote to reinstate the season passed unanimously and the season will start the weekend of October 23-24. The season was originally postponed back on August 11 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The unanimous vote means that rumblings about Michigan State, Michigan, and Maryland opting out of such a restart were false and that we will be watching the Spartans play ball in October.

In order to accommodate the season, the Big Ten is adopting multiple new protocols to keep student-athletes safe during competition, including daily antigen testing, enhanced cardiac screening, and a heavy emphasis on data.

From their statement:

The Big Ten Council of Presidents and Chancellors (COP/C) adopted significant medical protocols including daily antigen testing, enhanced cardiac screening and an enhanced data-driven approach when making decisions about practice/competition. The COP/C voted unanimously to resume the football season starting the weekend of October 23-24, 2020. The decision was based on information presented by the Big Ten Return to Competition Task Force, a working group that was established by the COP/C and Commissioner Kevin Warren to ensure a collaborative and transparent process.

The Big Ten will require student-athletes, coaches, trainers and other individuals that are on the field for all practices and games to undergo daily antigen testing. Test results must be completed and recorded prior to each practice or game. Student-athletes who test positive for the coronavirus through point of contact (POC) daily testing would require a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test to confirm the result of the POC test.

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BREAKING: Big Ten fall football restart vote has reportedly passed, season set to resume

According to Jeff Potrykus of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the Big Ten football restart vote has passed and the season will resume.

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Early on Tuesday, Nebraska President Ted Carter mistakenly let it slip that the Big Ten football season will resume and an announcement will be made this evening. While he tried to walk it back after his media conference, that news has now been confirmed by Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter Jeff Potrykus, who said that the vote already took place and the season is confirmed to be happening this fall.

Potrykus did not that he doesn’t know when the announcement will come, but that it is confirmed. He also noted that the Big Ten teams will be eligible for the College Football Playoffs and this will likely be an eight game season over a nine week period.

Potrykus also responded to a tweet from Brian Schottenstein from the Ohio Presidential Electoral College that these are rumors:

This is in line with the reports over the weekend that came out that the Big Ten was planning on an October 17th start date. Also, despite some rumors to the contrary, all 14 teams are reportedly going to follow suit with any decisions on the restart so this would mean Michigan State will be playing football games this fall.

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Nebraska President Ted Carter accidentally reveals Big Ten Football restart will be announced tonight

Picked up on a hot mic, Nebraska President Walter “Ted” Carter was heard saying that the Big Ten football restart will be announced tonight.

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If this is how the saga of Big Ten Football and their fall restart comes to pass, I think it would be somewhat poetic.

On Tuesday, Nebraska President Ted Carter was gearing up for a media conference when he said on a mic he didn’t know was ‘hot’: “We’re getting ready to announce the Huskers and Big Ten football tonight.” The comment was first picked up and released by KETV.

This comes just days after reports came out that the Big Ten would be resuming fall football on October 17th. This is major news for Michigan State football fans as there have been additional reports this week that if the Big Ten does restart the season, Michigan State would follow suit and play this fall.

You can read the full story below:

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Report: If Big Ten reinstates fall college football, Michigan State will not opt out

According to Brett McMurphy of Stadium, any vote to bring back Big Ten football this fall would include Michigan and Michigan State.

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NBA playoffs? NFL week one? Naomi Osaka wins the US Open? Sure, those were big stories this weekend, but perhaps the biggest came from the college football world, and specifically the Big Ten, and it’s a story that many Michigan State football fans have been waiting for.

On Sunday, it came out that, after reviewing a presentation on new COVID-19 rapid testing kits that would drastically limit the need for contact tracing, the Big Ten is almost certainly moving towards a start date for college football in the fall that is much earlier than original expectations. According to multiple reports, the Big Ten will be reinstating the football season on October 17th.

While this should lead to the return of MSU football, Dan Patrick said on his show this week that he doesn’t think Maryland, Michigan, and Michigan State will follow suit and will instead opt out of the season.

However, according to Brett McMurphy of Stadium, that’s not the case. McMurphy reported that, according to Stadium’s sources, any vote for the Big Ten to reinstate football would include all teams and no one will be opting out.

Here is his original tweet with the report:

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