Sidelined for championshp push, MSU's Michigan Stadium hero has no regrets

By foxsports
Published

Michigan State would not be playing in the College Football Playoff if not for Jalen Watts-Jackson, but Watts-Jackson will not be playing for the Spartans against Alabama. 

That is because he is still rehabbing a nasty hip injury suffered while delivering the biggest play of the season for the Spartans, an incredible return of a fumbled punt snap for a touchdown that turned a sure loss into a sudden victory for MSU. 

He told ESPN.com he has no regrets about making the play despite it resulting in a broken hip for him: 

Watts-Jackson's play not only went viral on the Internet, it created a result that changed MSU's season. If the Spartans had not won that game, their later victory over Ohio State still would not have been enough to get them to the Big Ten championship game. 

Without a conference title, it seems very unlikely the Spartans would have the opportunity that awaits on New Year's Eve. 

And that is enough for Watts-Jackson now. 

"I'd do it all over again, just as long as I knew it would get us to the playoff and keep our goals alive," said Watts-Jackson, a redshirt freshman from Dearborn, Michigan. "For this group of seniors and what they've meant to the team, I'd go through the pain again, the surgery, the rehab, the disappointment of not getting to play. I'd go through all of it."