What's Next After Season-Ending Injury for MSU's Cam Edwards
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EAST LANSING --- Michigan State's offense, which has already struggled a fair bit this year, just lost its best player.
Head coach Pat Fitzgerald announced during his weekly Monday press conference that star running back Cam Edwards is done for the year. Edwards suffered an injury to his right leg during the first half of Saturday's 31-13 loss to Nebraska and went to the locker room on a cart. He'd been the Spartans' best playmaker by a wide margin up to that point and will end his season with 304 yards on the ground and three touchdowns.
Opportunity for Patterson, Others
The small silver lining is that Michigan State does have some depth at running back. Edwards was the clear-cut best back the team has, but the Spartans have four other running backs who have gotten playing time at different spots this year: Jaziun Patterson, Marvis Parrish, Brandon Tullis, and Kenneth Williams.
Patterson is the leading candidate to take over as RB1. He's the man MSU turned to after Edwards went down early in the game and finished the game against the Cornhuskers with 16 rushes for 54 yards and a touchdown. His 3.4 yards per carry doesn't seem great on paper, but Patterson ran tough, and that's something Fitzgerald recognized. He shouted out Patterson during his Monday presser as well.
MSU's Depth at RB
Parrish probably becomes the RB2 now. He and Patterson were on a bit of a 2A and 2B basis on the depth chart before Edwards' injury, but Parrish is a true sophomore in his first Big Ten season after transferring in from Western Kentucky. Patterson is an Iowa transfer now in his fifth Big Ten season overall.
Tullis was also Michigan State's second option in the backfield for much of last season. He's seen his playing time decrease in 2026, with blocking being a pretty obvious weakness in Tullis' game. Tullis has gotten five carries so far this year for 39 yards.
Kenneth Williams is the wild card in the running back room. He's only gotten one carry so far for eight yards, but he's somebody who can make things happen with the ball in space. That drop in the endzone against Notre Dame could follow him around for a bit, but Williams is still a very interesting option to have, as far as RB3s or RB4s go.
MSU picked Williams up in the transfer portal this offseason as a kick return specialist. Williams was one of the best kick returners in the Big Ten at Nebraska in 2025, and he's been decent in the return game so far for Michigan State.
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A 2025 graduate from Michigan State University, Cotsonika brings a wealth of experience covering the Spartans from Rivals and On3 to his role as Michigan State Spartans Beat Writer on SI. At Michigan State, he was also a member of the world-renowned Spartan marching band for two seasons.
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