Shortly after the Big Ten Conference released its football schedule for the 2020 season intended to begin amid the worsening coronavirus pandemic, Michigan State defensive end Jacub Panasiuk announced via Twitter that he is opting out of the campaign.
— Jacub Panasiuk (@JacubPanasiuk) August 5, 2020
Panasiuk became a starter for the Spartans in 2018 and enjoyed his best collegiate season last year when, per ESPN's Alex Scarborough, he tallied 34 total tackles and five sacks.
Panasiuk is the first Michigan State player to declare he's opting out. In July, the entire MSU football team had to enter a 14-day quarantine due to potential exposure to infected individuals.
Also on Wednesday, Big Ten football players announced the formation of a unity group that listed requests and demands for participating in the 2020 season via The Players' Tribune.
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