EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Michigan State football coach Muddy Waters says he will punish, but not suspend, two players involved in separate 'player misconduct' incidents following the team's 20-7 loss to Notre Dame.
Waters told a Detroit television station Monday that he had suspended two players in the incidents. He later, however, told UPI he had changed his mind and declined to divulge the nature of the incidents.
'I had thought about suspending them, but I decided on another punishment instead,' Water said, refusing to elaborate.
'If I had suspended them it would have been too easy for you (reporters) to figure out who they were.'
He said the pair, who he refused to identify, will be playing Saturday against Michigan.
Waters described the incidents as 'player misconduct' and said they were not related and did not take place on the team bus as originally reported.
'They had nothing to do with the team,' Waters said. 'They were not of such a nature that you would want to print it.'
He reiterated his statement earlier in the day that the incidents were not racially sparked.
Waters, at his weekly luncheon with football writers, termed 'absolutely, positively wrong' reports that the incident was racially motivated.
At that session, Waters also announced that Bryan Clark has taken the quarterback job away from John Leister for the Michigan game.
The Spartans go into Saturday's contest with a 1-3 record while the Wolverines have a 3-1 mark. Michigan beat Indiana last week 38-17. Traditionally, however, past performances are forgotten when the intrastate rivalry takes place.
'With a game as traditional as Michigan-Michigan State, you never know what can happen,' Waters said.
The switch at quarterback was inevitable. Clark twice in two weeks came in and subsequently set up TDs when Leister was unable to move the team.
'Bryan will be starting and we feel he's earned it,' Waters said. The coach noted Leister has not shown any animosity toward Clark, who is a close friend.
The new starter took his assignment in stride.
'It's not as if I've never stared a game before,' Clark said. 'But I'm excited. It's the first time I've seen action against Michigan. I've never played against them before.'
He predicted the game will be a low scoring affair and said the Spartan defense should be able to hold the Wolverines offense.
Waters would not discuss reports of a fight among his players on the bus last weekend, except to deny the incident was a black-white issue.
'It's an internal problem that's been taken care of. It's something we've decided was a family thing,' he said.
