NCAA football: Michigan State at Notre Dame - September 17, 2016

Michigan State linebacker Ed Davis (43) waits in line while warming up before their NCAA football game against Notre Dame at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Ind. on Saturday, September 17, 2016.

(Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)

EAST LANSING -- On one of his first plays against BYU on Saturday, Michigan State senior linebacker Ed Davis cleared perhaps his last hurdle to feeling like his old self.

An opposing player player fell into his surgically repaired knee at the end of a play, and Davis went down to the turf.

But the knee didn't buckle, and there was no searing pain. Everything felt normal, and for Davis that was a great feeling.

"I got up and I was like 'I'm fine. I can do this. Let's go,'" Davis said. "I can get back to my old self."

Davis played the entire fourth quarter on defense against BYU, by far his most extended action of the season.

In doing so, he set himself up for potentially a larger role starting on Saturday, when Michigan State hosts Northwestern (3:30 p.m., BTN).

"We get him back into game condition like he's been, he'll be a huge asset," Spartans coach Mark Dantonio said of Davis.

Once Davis had his sixth year of eligibility approved and was able to resume practicing midway through fall camp in August, he's been going through the process of building his knee back up to 100 percent and learning to trust it. Davis tore his ACL early in Michigan State's 2015 fall camp.

He admitted he had knee pain at the end of some practices this year and would have to take things slowly after that. His debut against Notre Dame consisted of one play, after which it was decided he wasn't ready to move back into a key role.

As Davis prepared to return, he watched Michigan State struggle. Its defense faded in the second half against Wisconsin and Indiana, and the team lost two starting linebackers to injury.

"It was real hard," Davis said. "That's why I strived to get my knee better, and it's way better than it was at the first part of the season."

Spartans co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Mike Tressel said that Davis hasn't missed any repetitions in practice this week and that he showed no hesitation.

When Davis entered at his strong-side linebacker role on Saturday, Chris Frey slid over to the Star linebacker spot, displacing starter Andrew Dowell, who sat the entire fourth quarter.

Tressel said on Wednesday that Dowell will remain in a starting role against Northwestern, but that he struggled on some third down pass plays against BYU and the team is stressing him doing the little things well.

"He's a young football player, first year starting, we are preaching the attention to detail," Dowell said.

SPARTANS NOTES

Locker room talk: Dantonio was asked this week about the phrase "locker room talk," invoked frequently by presidential candidate Donald Trump recently to explain his demeaning remarks toward women. Dantonio said the phrase paints athletes with a broad brush, and that he doesn't stand for demeaning language in Michigan State's locker room. "If I hear language coming out of our locker room, I'm going to correct that language in a positive way," Dantonio said. "I'm not going to accept it."

Who starts at RB?: Gerald Holmes earned his first start of the season at running back on Saturday, but said after Tuesday's practice that he's unsure if the featured back role will remain his. "You never know," Holmes said. "I take every game as 'I'm the third back.' I keep myself grinding. I know my ability and I trust the coaches to make the smart decision."

Price on Mackey list: Josiah Price is one of 30 players named to the midseason watch list for the Mackey Award, which honors the best tight end in the country. Price has 14 catches for 150 yards and two touchdowns on the season.