Michigan State notes: Players from Houston, Florida cope with hurricanes
EAST LANSING – Tyler Higby got to see his family at Michigan State’s first two games.
This weekend, he and about 10 of his teammates are expected to see them again this weekend when they go to his hometown Houston for Hurricane Harvey relief efforts.
“It means a lot,” the third-year sophomore offensive lineman said Tuesday. “I know going through that week it was happening, my teammates were asking me how I was doing. But it means a lot to take the time, our two days off really, to help pick up houses, rebuild houses, help people move furniture and stuff.”
While the exact plans for the trip that is being organized by MSU’s chapter of Athletes In Action remain fluid, Higby said the players – including himself and fellow Houston native wideout Darrell Stewart and Dallas area cornerback Josh Butler – expect to leave early Friday morning, then arrive midday and begin working. They will return to campus Sunday.
No coaches are making the trip, and coach Mark Dantonio said this is meant to be an under-the-radar mission.
“I just think it's a good thing,” Dantonio said. “It's a good cause, and our guys are going down for the right reason. So just leave it with that.”
It has been a trying few weeks of watching weather from afar for a number of Spartans. Four players from Florida – defensive tackle Devyn Salmon, cornerback T.J. Harrell, wide receiver Laress Nelson and defensive end Lashawn Paulino-Bell – spent the last week worrying about relatives in the path of Hurricane Irma. Dantonio said their families all withstood the storm and “seem to be doing OK.”
“It was like a dream. You’re here and they’re there,” said Nelson, who said his family lost power and dealt with a few downed palm trees. “I feel like I was just there a couple weeks ago. It just feels fake talking to them and hearing them talk about it. I’ve never really been through that.”
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Higby – whose family also escaped significant issues – echoed that surreal feel of seeing images from Houston, which experienced more than 50 inches of rainfall and massive flooding from Hurricane Harvey.
“It was hard to see at first because I recognized a lot of the areas in a lot of the pictures that were taken. I’d never seen anything like that in my 18 years down there,” Higby said. “But it’s been good talking to my friends and seeing how they’re doing to make sure everyone’s all right. But it was tough at first.”
ANOTHER FRESH FACE: Dantonio said he expects safety Dominique Long to play against Notre Dame, which would make 11 true freshmen to play for the Spartans this season.
“I think he’s another guy that will play. I just think he does too many things on special teams,” Dantonio said. “He’s a good tackler. I think we can get him involved.”
MSU burned running back Connor Heyward’s redshirt on the kickoff return unit Saturday against Western Michigan, and Dantonio said he expects to use Heyward on other special teams moving forward. Last year’s team played a Dantonio-era record nine true freshmen.
“It’s a long season,” Dantonio said. “And you get guys nicked up and they can't practice, and then you end up practicing this guy or that guy.”
ARCURI SIDELINED: Dantonio said A.J. Arcuri continues to recover from an unspecified surgery, and he expects to find out if the redshirt freshman offensive lineman will be able to return this season in early October.
“My hope is that he’ll start to be able to practice again,” Dantonio said.
Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrissolari.