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Michigan State RB Kenneth Walker III breaks B1G record previously held by Jonathan Taylor, Saquon Barkley
By Nick Schultz
Published:
If you didn’t know Kenneth Walker III’s name, you do now.
The Wake Forest transfer ran right through Northwestern’s defense in Week 1, totaling 264 yards and 4 touchdowns in Michigan State’s 38-21 win over the Wildcats.
Even beyond the traditional stat sheet, Walker III put himself in the record book. He ran for 187 yards after contact in Week 1 — two more than Jonathan Taylor’s previous B1G record of 185 and five more than Saquon Barkley’s mark of 182.
Talk about some good company.
Since @SportsInfo_SIS began tracking yards after contact in 2016, no Big Ten running back has generated more in a conference game than Kenneth Walker III's 187 on Friday night pic.twitter.com/JHatx6E3VS
— CFB Film Room (@CFBFilmRoom) September 6, 2021
Walker III’s effort was a big factor in Michigan State’s decisive season-opening victory, which also earned him B1G Offensive Player of the Week honors. He’ll be a big part of Michigan State’s revamped run game going forward as coach Mel Tucker works to improve one of the offense’s weakest areas in 2020.
We’ll see if he can continue that dominance this week when the Spartans take on Youngstown State on Sept. 11 at noon ET.
Nick Schultz is a columnist and breaking news writer for Saturday Tradition. A 2020 graduate of Loyola Chicago, he covered the Ramblers' 2018 Final Four run from beginning to end and has worked at NBC Sports Chicago. Follow Nick on Twitter @NickSchultz_7.