The Pros And Cons Of Elijah Tau-Tolliver's Offensive Boom
In this story:
Michigan State Spartans running back Elijah Tau-Tolliver had jumped out of the third-string role against the Minnesota Golden Gophers when the team's starter, Makhi Frazier, was ruled out with an injury.
He was not on top of the depth chart despite the loss of Frazier, but in the run-by-committee approach MSU uses, he was still able to attain 127 yards off of 11 carries.
Any number over 100 yards is impressive for any rusher, but even though the stats appear perfect, not everything is as it seems, presenting some exciting pros but cons that balance them out.
The Pros From Elijah Tau-Tolliver
- Tau-Tolliver had been grinding across the course of the game, and his time finally arose when he ripped off an 85-yard run in the fourth quarter.
- Despite not resulting in a score, the explosive run means that he does the same thing again and again to the remaining three teams MSU has yet to play this season.
- Furthermore, when paired with Brandon Tullis, the duo can get first downs pretty often while receivers like Omari Kelly and Rodney Bullard Junior pick up anything they leave behind.
The Cons From Elijah Tau-Tolliver
- Tau-Tolliver improved his stock on the team, no doubt, but his play raises some pretty big concerns as well.
- While he did have that 85-yard rush, the rest of his runs averaged 4.2 yards per carry, which is not bad by any means, but the output was inconsistent.
- Instead of actually getting 4.2 yards on most rushes, he flip-flopped between distances as low as negative two and 12 yards.
- But this is likely not anything to be concerned about since it is fairly common for running backs to be back and forth on their output in between plays due to many factors.
- Tau-Tolliver is also a freshman and does not have the experience that some of his teammates have, yet he still produced higher than Frazier has in many of MSU's other games.
The pros definitely outweigh the cons for Elijah Tau-Tolliver, and if it wasn't already, the MSU rushing room provides a glimmer of hope alongside Alessio Milivojevic for next season.
Keep up with all our content when you follow the official Spartan Nation page on Facebook, Spartan Nation, WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE, and be sure to share your thoughts on Elijah Tau-Tolliver when you join our community group, Go Green Go White, WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE.
Nathan Berry is a senior at NCCS and was raised a Michigan State Spartan fan. With a great interest in sports and writing, journalism is a great avenue to pursue both.