There are plenty of questions about Michigan State’s offense after last years abysmal showing. The Spartans might have had the Power 5’s worst offense, and the numbers bear that out.

Running the ball, the Spartans ranked 114th out of 129 NCAA teams a year ago, averaging only 124.8 yards per carry through 13 games. Only Northwestern, Stanford, Washington State and Florida State were worse among Power 5 schools.

Here’s how things are shaping up this year:

Running back position still in flux

Michigan State’s running game was a mess a year ago, one of the worst in the country. That was because of the injury to LJ Scott, who missed nine games, and the offensive line that was so beat up all year.

So all eyes are on who will emerge this year at running back, because you know Mark Dantonio wants to run the football, and he was embarrassed by last year’s output (124 yards per games, which ranked 114th out of 129 schools). Connor Heyward and LaDarius Jefferson are both back, and they want to lead a running game resurgence.

Heyward did have a few moments a year ago, rushing for a whopping 157 yards on 15 carries and two touchdowns against Maryland. The numbers were aided by an 80-yard touchdown run. Jefferson got some action as a true freshman a year ago, and a lot of people are high on him as he makes the position transition from high school, where he was an outstanding running quarterback. Sophomore Elijah Collins and freshman Anthony Williams, who enrolled in January, are also eager to get some carries. They can play.

“The competition is great,” Collins said. “I love the competition. We got a lot of good guys in there. … We’re dealing with it pretty well, honestly. Nobody is down about it. Everybody is just getting their reps in and giving 100 percent on their couple reps, and then the next guy is in.”

Offensive line has the pieces, but will they hold up?

The good news is that Michigan State has a ton of experienced talent coming back along the offensive line. The bad news is almost everyone missed time with injuries a year ago, so there always has to be a concern about how well this position group can hold up. They didn’t last year, and it led to a complete collapse of the Spartans offense.

All the injuries at least allowed some young guys to get playing time. We can expect big things from left tackle Cole Chewins, and right guard Kevin Jarvis and right tackle Jordan Reid should be strong as well. The biggest guy to keep an eye on is 5-star recruit Devontae Dobbs, the biggest recruiting win for the Spartans along the offensive line in a long time. Other guys to watch are senior left guard Tyler Higby, center Matt Allen, Blake Bueter and AJ Arcuri.

“It helps a lot, especially when you get some experience, some age with the group,” Chewins said. “It helps when people kind of understand everything that’s going on and maybe have a little bit of confidence playing out there. I mean, they are able to switch around out there a little bit more and versatility helps, especially when guys go down.”

That versatility will be huge this season.