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Scoring just 18.7 points per game, last year’s version of the Michigan State Spartans ranked 126th out of 130 FBS programs.
Holding opponents to 17.2 PPG, Mark Dantonio’s team had the potential to be much better than their 7-6 record. This offensive letdown led to a reshuffling of the program’s offensive coaching staff. Receiving a promotion from his position of quarterbacks coach, Brad Salem is in his first year as the Spartans’ offensive coordinator/running backs coach.
Dave Warner, the co-OC from 2013-18, accepted his demotion and took over Salem’s old role. Warner’s co-OC counterpart for six years, Jim Bollman is now coaching the offensive line.
Dantonio’s decision to not part ways with anyone following a second underwhelming season in a three-year span was met with understandable skepticism. Thus far, it appears the 63-year-old coach may have been onto something.
Sitting at 3-1 (1-0 B1G), the 2019 Spartans are averaging 29.2 PPG, good for No. 73 in America. A 53-spot improvement over a year ago, Michigan State’s offense is off to a nice start, but they are not free of concerns.
Starting 19 games at right guard over the last two seasons, junior Kevin Jarvis was taking over at left tackle this season. Rolled up on during the loss to Arizona State, he is currently sidelined with a knee injury and the team is hoping for a possible return by the Penn State game on October 26. Redshirt senior Tyler Higby, who has started 26 games at three spots along the offensive line over the last three seasons, has replaced Jarvis.
While fortunate to avoid as many injuries, Salem and Dantonio have another conundrum at the running back position: How to find touches for all of them.
“It’s challenging,” Dantonio said about getting touches for all his running backs during his Tuesday press conference.
“I would say it’s always challenging because everybody wants to play, and they have had success. But everybody has an opportunity to do things every day in practice.
“We’re going to always play the best player or the player who is playing the best – maybe, I should say, the player who is playing the best at that moment.”
The player who has been playing the best so far is redshirt freshman Elijah Collins. A 247Sports Composite three-star in 2018, Collins has racked up 357 yards on 5.9 yards per carry through the team’s first four games. Carrying the football 17 times in Evanston vs. Northwestern – 10 more than any other running back – Collins had a team-high 76 yards and a score.
Leaving the win with an injury, he received an unspecified MRI but received the “all clear” from his head coach.
“We took him out for precautionary (reasons) just to get a quick X-ray, but he’s fine.”
Seemingly good to go moving forward, expect Collins to continue to pace this backfield. Wearing No. 24 and listed at 217 pounds, the comparisons to former Spartan Le’Veon Bell are natural. If all goes well, Collins should easily surpass Bell’s 605 yards rushing as a freshman in 2010.
The team’s leading rusher in the season-opening win over Tulsa on August 30, Spartan fans have become very familiar with Connor Heyward over the last three seasons. While he led the team vs. the Golden Hurricane, the junior totaled just 43 yards and averaged just 2.9 YPC.
In the three games since, he has received a total of nine carries – three in each game. Above average in pass protection, Heyward seems to be the odd man out in the group right now and all signs pointed toward his reduced number of touches continuing.
Collins isn’t the only reason for Heyward’s limited role, the emergence of freshman Anthony Williams has factored in, too.
A 247Sports Composite three-star, Williams enrolled early and joined the Spartans for spring practice. This looks like a wise decision as the shifty freshman has become an intriguing piece for Salem’s attack. After not playing in the Tulsa game, Williams has received at least two carries in each of the last three games, including seven attempts while Collins was out during the Northwestern win.
Approaching the four-game limit for a possible redshirt, Dantonio has no plans to scale back Williams’ usage.
“I think there’s great learning experiences. I think it benefits a lot of players if they can get on the field for a game or so. They’re obviously not going to play the whole game, but I just think it benefits them.
“It’s different than practice. It increases your awareness and your focus for every game, because you understand that you may be in there.
“We’re just going to keep working our guys.”
Williams appears to be in line for a small, steady role behind Collins as the team’s No. 2 option out of the backfield. His seven carries in the Northwestern game were four more than either Heyward or sophomore La’Darius Jefferson received.
Born in Mississippi, Jefferson moved to Muskegon, Michigan prior to his junior year of high school in 2016 and starred at quarterback for the Big Reds, winning the Michigan Mr. Football Award in 2017. Recruited as an athlete, he embraced the full-time running back role from the get-go and rushed for 255 yards in 2018, third on the team.
Off to a bit of a slow start, Jefferson is averaging just 1.3 YPC in 2019. Possessing good size at 6-foot-1, 229 pounds, his career 2.9 YPC is a bit puzzling. Ideally, you would like to see that number at least four YPC, and Jefferson’s is all but certain to rise from here.
Still, this slow start has him firmly behind Collins and Williams for the time being.
Regardless of who is lining up beside redshirt senior quarterback Brian Lewerke, Michigan State needs to run the football more effectively. While the Spartans broke through the 100-yard threshold against Northwestern, it took them 40 carries to do so and averaged just 2.7 yards per attempt.
Facing the Indiana Hoosiers at home on Saturday (3:30PM ET, BTN), the Spartans have an opportunity to showcase continued improvement under this reshuffled staff. Allowing 120.5 yards per game on the ground, the Hoosiers are not exactly what you would call a defensive juggernaut.
Dantonio used the word “challenging” to describe the current state of backfield. This is an accurate description, but his plan to ride the hot hand makes a lot of sense. Known for his loyalty to his upperclassmen, it will be interesting to see if the Spartan coaching staff continues to feature Collins and Williams moving forward.
A graduate of Bowling Green State University, Rydquist has been contributing to Saturday Down South and Saturday Tradition since 2019. He can be found on Twitter @TeddyRydquist.