RJ Williamson has earned himself a starting spot on the MSU defense. (Natalie Kolb / The State News)

Today, we’ll look at and discuss the major depth chart changes in the Spartans’ lineup for this weekend’s game against Iowa.

Dion Sims is likely out against Iowa. If you were to tell me Dion Sims was going to be out for the Iowa game two weeks ago, I might have burst into tears. I mean, we didn’t have any receivers who could catch the ball. But last week, the Spartans struck gold with Freshman wide receiver Aaron Burbridge. With that, I’m a lot less worried. Although Sims is Maxwell’s “savior” (whenever he’s in trouble, he seems to just toss it to Sims), Burbridge adds a whole new dynamic to the offense, so the loss of SIms’ won’t be as bad as expected.

The decision for starting free safety has finally been made! Kind of. Although at the beginning of the year, Jairus Jones and Kurtis Drummond were fighting for the starting spot, a new player has emerged: RJ Williamson. I’m saying that the decision hasn’t already been made because even though Jairus Jones dropped out of the running, the MSU depth chart says “RJ Williamson OR Kurtis Drummond”. Those are probably the best candidates to start, and it’ll be exciting to see the battle continue throughout the season.

Nick Hill, who has been shaky on punt returns, has fallen on the depth chart behind Andre Sims, Jr. and Le’Veon Bell. It’s awesome to see Andre Sims, Jr. (who we really have to see more of) get a big playing spot, as MSU is dearly missing Keshawn Martin.

I don’t mean to toot my own horn, but do you know what else is happening on defense? The listing at the STAR linebacker position reads “Taiwan Jones OR Chris Norman”. Yeah. A guy I’ve been touting since the beginning of the year is now splitting time with one of the best players on the one of the best defenses.