MSU's Smith: Still Some Things to Work on With RBs

Michigan State coach Jonathan Smith inherited a rushing attack that was one of college football's most lackluster in 2023.

Oct 28, 2023; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Michigan State Spartans running back Nate Carter (5) runs / Nick Wosika-USA TODAY Sports

Michigan State coach Jonathan Smith knew he had his work cut out for him when he was hired last November -- especially when it came to bolstering the Spartans' run game.

Last season, the Spartans were ranked 127th out of 133 teams in FBS football with 89.5 rushing yards a game. The team averaged just 2.9 yards per carry, a big drop from the 2022 season's 5.5 yards per carry and a far cry from 2021, when Kenneth Walker III singlehandedly led one of the healthiest MSU rushing attacks in recent memory.

Like the team as a whole, things are looking better for the running back group as spring practices continue.

"All of them [the running backs] are getting carries," Smith told reporters on Tuesday. "I think Nate [Carter] has stood out; he's in great shape, he knows what he's doing. [Jalen] Berger has had some carries, [Jaren] Mangham has had some good carries, Davion [Primm] been coming along."

Carter was the feature back for the Spartans for most of last season, starting all 12 games and leading the team in rushing with 798 yards and four touchdowns (both career highs) on 185 carries. The redshirt junior spent two seasons at the University of Connecticut before transferring to MSU. With the Huskies, he tallied 983 rushing yards in 16 games.

Berger had a brief stint at the University of Wisconsin before arriving to East Lansing in 2022. That 2022 season, he led the Spartans with 683 yards and was tied for the team lead with six touchdowns.

Mangham is a sixth-year grad transfer who made stops at the University of Colorado and the University of South Florida before ending up with the Spartans. Last season, he missed the first half with an injury before playing in the last six games, making his Green and White debut in the loss against Michigan. He played a total of 105 offensive snaps on the season.

Primm saw limited action in his first two seasons with MSU. In high school, he was the No. 2 running back in the state of Michigan, per 247Sports.

Historically, good Spartan teams have had good running games -- Duffy Daugherty's national championship teams in '65 and '66 had Clinton Jones, George Perles' best came with Lorenzo White, Nick Saban had T.J. Duckett in 1999, Mark Dantonio had Javon Ringer for a season, the dangerous duo of LeVeon Bell and Edwin Baker and an underrated feature back in Jeremy Langford. Mel Tucker's best had Walker.

Smith will be looking to inject some life back into the Spartans' rushing offense.

"We've still got a ways to go there," he said.

The Michigan State Spartan Football Spring Green and White Game (Spring Showcase) will be held at the High Cathedral of the Spartan Nation, Spartan Stadium, on April 20, 2024, at 2 p.m.

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