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"&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Michigan State&amp;nbsp;coach Mark Dantonio confirmed Sunday that starting cornerback Vayante Copeland will miss the rest of the season due to a fractured vertebra in his neck.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CIt\u2019s very unfortunate, he\u2019s a great player and a good person,\u201D Dantonio said. \u201CBut he\u2019s handling it very, very well. That\u2019s the situation and you cannot mess with that kind of thing. We took the precautions, did the MRIs, etc., and those are the things that it showed.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CHe\u2019ll heal fine, be back for the spring, but right now it\u2019s too iffy of a situation.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The news was first reported Saturday, as Copeland revealed&amp;nbsp;he\u2019d miss the year with a neck injury in a group text to teammates.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CIt broke my heart when he texted us and said he was out for the season,\u201D defensive back Demetrious Cox said Saturday, according to the &lt;em&gt;Detroit Free Press&lt;/em&gt;. \u201CIt was shocking, especially a younger guy who has come so far. He\u2019s making plays, obviously, and it was tough. But it\u2019s the next-man-up mentality. No matter what happens, somebody\u2019s got to be able to step up and make plays.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Copeland, a redshirt freshman, exited early in the fourth quarter of the Spartans\u2019 win over Oregon on Sept. 12. He was seen in a neck brace on the sideline Saturday.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;This marks the second Michigan State defensive starter lost to injury this year. Senior linebacker Ed Davis sustained a season-ending knee injury in the preseason.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u2022 &lt;strong&gt;Auburn \u2018hopeful\u2019 DE Carl Lawson (hip) can return this season&lt;/strong&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;- Kenny Ducey&lt;/em&gt;\r\n&lt;/p&gt;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.si.com/college-football/2015/09/19/michigan-state-vayante-copeland-out-season-neck-injury>