Michigan State freshman tailback turning heads in spring practice
Running back has been one of the positions of most intrigue throughout Michigan State’s 2022 spring practice slate.
Obviously, the Spartans have a tall task in replacing Doak Walker Award winner Kenneth Walker III, and making up for all that lost production is likely going to have to come from multiple guys in Michigan State’s backfield.
With that understood, one guy who has really stood out for the Spartans coaching staff through these past five weeks of practice is redshirt freshman Davion Primm. A three-star recruit out of Oak Park High School, Primm flew under the radar during his first season in East Lansing, redshirting and helping out on the scout team.
“I saw him every day on the scout team, and then last preseason we had a couple scrimmages, he got the ball a couple times and he looked like a good player,” head coach Mel Tucker said of Primm earlier this week.
Ranked No. 1077 nationally and the No. 30 player in the state of Michigan in the class of 2021, Primm had eleven FBS-Division I offers out of high school, including Power 5 offers from MSU, Colorado and Iowa State.
But his days as being a relatively unknown player in East Lansing may be coming to an end, based the way Michigan State’s coaching staff has talked about the redshirt freshman this spring.
“The one thing that stands out the most about Davion,” said MSU running backs coach Effrem Reed. “His body’s changed a lot, so he’s able to endure a lot more. But, the mental aspect of the game, he understands it a lot more. He was able to slow it down, and he’s slowing things down out there on the field, so he’s able to process a lot more and he’s playing faster and making plays.”
Primm’s first mention this spring came from offensive coordinator Jay Johnson, who pointed out the freshman while talking about the running backs room as a whole.
“They’re all getting a bunch of reps, and one guy that’s a little bit of a newcomer that I’ve been very pleased with is Davion Primm,” Johnson said back on March 24. “He’s really done some very good things for us, early in the spring campaign.”
Just a few days later, head coach Mel Tucker was asked about his running backs and guys who were standing out through the first couple weeks.
“Elijah [Collins], Harold [Joiner], [Jalen] Berger – [Davion] Primm is doing a good job – [Jordon] Simmons. Those guys are all in there working,” Tucker said. “We’ve got a stable of guys back there, and they’re all competing. We still have a lot of spring left, and we’ve got the whole summer and fall camp, so there’s not a clear-cut separation right now with the guys, as far as I’m concerned. But, the guys are competing, they’re working hard.”
After a brief pause, Tucker added one further comment.
“I’d keep an eye on Primm,” the head coach said. “He’s a good player. He’s tough.”
A couple more weeks went by before Tucker met with the media again. This came after Michigan State had performed a scrimmage in spring practice, and once again, Primm was a standout.
“We had a ‘player alert’ segment in our team meeting for Primm,” Tucker said on April 11. “He made a guy miss in the hole, so I showed it to the team. The slide was ‘player alert’ and then it showed him making some plays. I said, it’s not a declaration of a bonafide player, but it’s an alert. So, be on alert. That was good to see from him.”
Interest in Primm has grown steadily throughout this past month, as his name continues to come up in coaching media availabilities. Tucker did try to reel back on the reins a bit, probably not wanting to put too much of a spotlight or too much presser on the young player, but it’s clear the staff sees something special with the redshirt freshman.
“Listen, I’m not putting him in the Hall of Fame or anything,” Tucker said. “I’m just saying that he’s a player that – you ask about players that have gotten better, and he’s flashing. There’s a player alert.”
Reed, who played the position, helped with the running backs last season as an offensive analyst, and is now has been promoted as the position coach, said the most important development for young players is consistency.
Based on what we’ve heard from all of coaches, that might be where Primm is at right now. Clearly he’s been showing a lot of good things this spring in practice, that’s why his name has come up this often. Now, how quickly can the freshman develop the consistency to make a regular impact on the field for the Spartans?
“For him, as a young guy, you’re always out there trying to speed up your footwork, speed up your eyes when you don’t really have to do all of that,” Reed said. “He understands how plays are being blocked, where he fits in the pass game, so once he gets all those things and he’s consistent with it, the sky’s the limit for the kid. He’s been doing a phenomenal job.”
