Though while Ball is being held out to prevent injury, Maxwell will miss Saturday's game in order to make sure he doesn't make a current injury any worse.
"Andrew will not play. Too much of a risk," said head coach Mark Dantonio. "He might be able to play (but won't).
"You'd like to have a little more depth at the quarterback position than we currently have with one guy out, but that's the way we've sort of handled it here. We've always tried to have four quarterbacks on scholarship at once, maximum. And that leaves us a little light sometimes."
Maxwell sprained his right knee during a practice on April 14.
With Maxwell's absence, redshirt freshman Connor Cook will play for both teams during the scrimmage.
This isn't the best news for Michigan State heading into the 2012 season. While keeping Maxwell out of the spring game will ensure his knee heals in time for him to participate in camp this summer, unlike Montee Ball at Wisconsin, the Spartans don't entirely know what they're getting with Maxwell just yet.
Being able to get as many snaps under center as possible before the season starts is ideal for Maxwell as he looks to replace Kirk Cousins.