RJ Williamson the latest MSU starter lost to injury

EAST LANSING, Mich. _ Another day, another devastating long-term injury for Michigan State football.tmpplchld MSU coach Mark Dantonio said senior safety RJ Williamson had surgery Sunday to repair a torn bicep, suffered in Saturday’s 24-21 win over Purdue. Williamson may be able to return for the last game of the regular season, Dantonio said, and should be back for sure by the postseason.tmpplchld “We’ve had some injuries,” Dantonio said on his weekly teleconference in the understatement of the season to date. “We’ve got to adapt, we’ve got to reconstruct what we do and keep playing. We’ve got good players. We’ll maintain.”tmpplchld The loss of Williamson, who got his degree over the summer and has been playing his best ball as a fifth-year senior, means Demetrious Cox likely has to stay at safety after moving there from cornerback against Purdue. And it means struggling sophomore Montae Nicholson will be working through his issues on the field _ MSU benched him for the Purdue game, moving Cox to his free safety spot and using Nicholson on third downs.tmpplchld Then Williamson went down and it was Cox and Nicholson, and that’s the safety pair moving forward. That also means Arjen Colquhoun and Darian Hicks, Saturday’s starting corners, should be the long-term duo there. Starting cornerback Vayante Copeland was lost earlier in the season to a fractured vertebra.tmpplchld Williamson’s surgery came a day after reserve left tackle Dennis Finley had surgery to repair a broken fibula and tibia, suffered in the second quarter against Purdue. Finley was playing in place of starter Jack Conklin, who is out indefinitely with a knee injury.tmpplchld True freshman Grayson Miller played late Saturday and is MSU’s No. 3 safety at this point. Dantonio left open the possibility that No. 4 MSU (5-0) could still activate a freshman cornerback for Saturday’s game at Rutgers (2-2).tmpplchld Junior safety Mark Meyers remains suspended, and Dantonio said his status will be addressed after his legal matters are complete. Meyers will be sentenced Oct. 21 in East Lansing’s District Court 54-B after pleading guilty last week to impaired driving.tmpplchld As for Williamson, Dantonio said of their pre-surgery discussion: “It’s another form of adversity in a young person’s life, so it’s difficult to deal with. But he was solid. He will have a role on this football team.”tmpplchld ___tmpplchld (c)2015 Detroit Free Presstmpplchld Visit the Detroit Free Press at www.freep.comtmpplchld Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.tmpplchld