Michigan State football getting back WR Jalen Nailor for Peach Bowl vs. Pitt Panthers

Chris Solari, Detroit Free Press

December 28, 2021 at 9:44 AM·4 min read

Michigan State football’s offense will get one of its biggest weapons back for the Peach Bowl.

Offensive coordinator Jay Johnson said redshirt junior wide receiver Jalen Nailor will be active and available Thursday when the 12th-ranked Spartans face No. 10 Pitt in Atlanta. The junior has been out since suffering a right hand injury late in the first half of a win over Michigan on Oct. 30.

Johnson also said Tuesday morning fellow redshirt junior wideout and punt/kick returner Jayden Reed will play in the 7 p.m. game (ESPN), allaying concerns of him joining running back Kenneth Walker III in opting out of the game.

MORE: Who will replace Kenneth Walker III at running back in Peach Bowl

Michigan State wide receiver Jalen Nailor (8) runs against Michigan defensive back Daxton Hill (30) during the first half at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing on Saturday, Oct. 30, 2021.

“When you have both of those guys, they're obviously a couple of our top skilled guys, and their playmaking abilities speaks for itself,” Johnson said. “And so I think anytime that you can have more than one, you hope that can challenge the defense a little bit by who they have to cover and things like that and put more stresses on them.”

Despite missing the final four games of the regular season, the 6-foot, 190-pound Nailor earned honorable mention All-Big Ten by the media with 31 catches for 587 yards and six touchdowns in his first eight games. That included a five-catch, 221-yard, three-TD performance at Rutgers on Oct. 9 that earned Nailor the Big Ten co-offensive player of the week nod. His 18.94 yards per catch still ranked second in the league and 19th in the Football Bowl Subdivision, and 23 of Nailor’s receptions went for either a first down or touchdown from quarterback Payton Thorne.

More: Peach Bowl: How Michigan State secondary plans to fix leaks vs. Pitt's Nick Patti

More: Michigan State's Mel Tucker has no issue with transfer players playing in Peach Bowl

Reed sat out the second half of the Ohio State game with a right foot injury but had eight catches for 89 yards and was a critical blocking force in a win over Penn State on Nov. 27 to close the regular season. The 6-foot, 185-pound high school teammate of Thorne led the Spartans with 946 yards and eight touchdowns on 53 catches, a 17.8 yards per catch average. Reed also was a finalist for the Paul Hornung Award that goes to the nation’s most versatile player and first-team All-Big Ten specialist thanks to his two punt return touchdowns, and he ranks 17th nationally with 130.8 all-purpose yards per game.

Walker, who opted out to prepare for the NFL draft as an early entrant, averaged 143.8 all-purpose yards. Johnson did not say how or who might replace the junior running back from a group that includes Elijah Collins, Jordon Simmons, Harold Joiner, Donovan Eaglin and Davion Primm.

“That's obviously a huge challenge,” Johnson said of replacing Walker. “Ken is, as we all know, a very special player. .. We're going to sorely miss him, and he's phenomenal. But yet, I feel really good about who we have at that spot.”

Coach Mel Tucker said Sunday that senior tight end Tyler Hunt is doubtful for MSU (10-2), and Johnson said redshirt freshman Maliq Carr will take on a larger role against Pitt (11-2) alongside senior Connor Heyward.

Michigan State Spartans tight end Maliq Carr (6) makes a catch against Maryland Terrapins defensive back Tarheeb Still (12) during first half action Saturday, Nov. 13, 2021 at Spartan Stadium.

The 6-foot Heyward started all 12 games so far and has 30 catches for 289 yards and a touchdown and served as a battering-ram blocker for Walker. The 6-5, 245-pound Carr emerged in the passing game late in the season with Nailor out, and the Purdue transfer had five of his six catches and 92 of his 100 receiving yards coming in the final five games.

“Obviously Connor Heyward will be certainly at the forefront of what we do, and then it's gonna be Maliq,” Johnson said. “Maliq was a little bit banged up really, really early in the year, which kind of hurt him. But with coach (Ted) Gilmore and how he's come along, I've been excited about him. He's obviously really a big, skilled athlete. We're obviously in a little bit of a transition of how he's been used in the past, but I think he's working through that and I see some really positive things coming from him.”

Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrissolari. Read more on the Michigan State Spartans and sign up for our Spartans newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State football returns Jalen Nailor in Peach Bowl

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