MSU Football Film Review: What Cam Edwards Brings to Table
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The Michigan State Spartans are looking to turn their fortunes around after failing to make a bowl game for the last four years. New head coach Pat Fitzgerald will look to turn the program into a respectable one again, similar to the days of Mark Dantonio.
Fitzgerald got to work in the offseason, adding 29 transfers in total, to restock the roster in his vision for the 2026 season, a year the Spartans hope will be filled with competitive football and a bowl game appearance. One of those 29 transfers was former UConn running back Cam Edwards, one of the most productive rushers in the country last season with 1,226 yards and 15 rushing scores.
Edwards was arguably the best player for the Huskies last fall and will be as such for Michigan State this season. He is one of the most important pieces of the Spartans' success, but what skill set does he offer under offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan? Let's find out.
Cam Edwards Provides All-Around Skill Set
At 5-foot-11 and 210 pounds, Edwards is a fairly lean running back with an impressive core and strong lower half, allowing him to possess a power element to his game. When I first saw him on tape, I didn't expect to see what I ended up viewing—an all-around skill set that could help transcend the Spartans' offense.
We're only getting one season with Edwards in East Lansing, as it may be a forgone conclusion that he'll be heading to the NFL Draft with a Shrine or Senior Bowl appearance. The talent is evident, and I felt Edwards displayed it effectively against the three opponents I viewed, which were Army, Duke, and Syracuse.
When watching Edwards, the first thing you'll see is how urgent he plays behind the line of scrimmage. That urgency leads him to play like a big-play hunter, and he'll sometimes choose to go against the run concepts and find space aggressively, which can compromise the play and lead to minimal gains or loss of yardage. However, Edwards is great at finding that space with impressive lateral agility and footwork, as his eyes and feet stay synced up often.
Edwards combines that vision with quickness and creativity in space, knowing where his cutback lanes are and attacking at will. Once he's beyond the line of scrimmage, he'll offer a power element that allows him to be diverse in certain blocking schemes, whether at Michigan State or his future NFL home. Edwards also has great contact balance that has allowed him to create ample yards after contact—763 of his over 1,200 yards came after contact.
The former UConn standout is not an overtly explosive runner, but he does generate big plays in the open field with lateral and vertical burst, allowing him to make the first man miss and to run away from second-level defenders while using his balance and toughness to break tackles from defensive backs. As a pass-catcher, Edwards flashes natural hands to be an effective slip screen or checkdown option for the quarterback, though in pass protection, his technique has room to improve.
Let's look at some tape: in the first clip below, UConn is running a counter play to the right. Edwards shows off the lateral quickness and burst to jump into an adjacent gap and split defenders for a big play. The contact balance is widely effective in the second video, bouncing off multiple would-be tacklers for another chunk play on the ground, while the third clip showcases the quickness and burst in space, but lacks a third gear to truly separate.
UConn transfer and Michigan State RB Cam Edwards was a big-time portal acquisition for the #Spartans. I expect MSU to lean on Edwards as the lead skill player.
— Jared Feinberg (@Jared_NFLDraft) June 29, 2026
Good combination of vision, balance, and quickness. pic.twitter.com/0gO4wTHXzk
Edwards' Outlook for 2026 College Football Season
While Edwards is transitioning from a nine-win program to a four-win disappointment, there is no doubt the Spartans have curated their offense around running the football with physical blockers in the trenches, including Edwards' teammate with the Huskies, Ben Murawski. His production could decrease, but it wouldn't be shocking to see Sheridan make his new running back the workhorse of the offense.
Edwards eases the pressure of the quarterback situation and should be the Spartans' top offensive playmaker in 2026. With his skill set, Michigan State could wrangle a surprise win or two this fall.
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Jared Feinberg, a native of western North Carolina, has written about NFL football for nearly a decade. He has contributed to several national outlets and is now part of our On SI team as an NFL team reporter. Jared graduated from UNC Asheville with a bachelor's degree in mass communications and later pursued his master's degree at UNC Charlotte. You can follow Jared Feinberg on Twitter at @JRodNFLDraft