Where MSU's Tullis Stands Within Packed Running Back Room

The Spartans' leading returning rusher might struggle to get regular carries this coming season.

Michigan State's Brandon Tullis runs for a gain against Boston College's during the first quarter on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing. | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The distribution of the carries for Michigan State is going to be very interesting this fall.

MSU and position coach Devon Spalding pretty much completely overhauled its running back room this offseason. The Spartans picked up four backs from the transfer portal: Cam Edwards (UConn), Jaziun Patterson (Iowa), Marvis Parrish (Western Kentucky), and Kenneth Williams (Nebraska).

Return of Tullis

Michigan State RB Brandon Tullis carries the ball as USC DE Braylan Shelby closes in during the Spartans' and Trojans' matchup on Sept. 20, 2025. USC won 45-31. | Darrell Craig Harris, On SI

Rising junior Brandon Tullis is going to be an interesting piece of the puzzle. He was the RB2 for a good portion of the 2025 season. The Dallas, Texas native carried it 69 times for 301 yards (4.4 YPC) with four rushing touchdowns. He also had an additional 11 catches for 82 receiving yards.

Tullis's decision to come back was an interesting move. Edwards, Parrish, and Patterson are all guys who are going to deserve some carries this season. Edwards is also the pretty clear RB1 after recording 1,240 rushing yards last season.

April 18, 2026; East Lansing, Mich.; Michigan State running back Cam Edwards (0) tries to avoid defensive back Michael Richard (7) during MSU's "Spring Showcase" at Spartan Stadium. | Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans on SI

All three of those guys committed to the program with more than a week remaining in the window for new players to enter the portal. Tullis is also a childhood friend of former RB1 Makhi Frazier, who transferred to Ole Miss.

Despite that, Tullis is still back. There really is no guarantee that he will get as many carries as he did in 2025. There should still be spots where Tullis can expect to get the ball next year, though.

What Tullis Can Do

Michigan State's Brandon Tullis runs the ball against Michigan during the third quarter on Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing. | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Tullis can be the guy who gets the ball when opposing defenses are expecting the play to be a run. His pass-blocking graded out to just 24.2 on Pro Football Focus.

Offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan can't necessarily call a run play every time Tullis goes onto the field (defenses would pick up on that pretty fast), but No. 7 is a guy who should be out there in short-yardage situations.

Nov 22, 2025; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; Michigan State Spartans running back Brandon Tullis (7) runs the ball against the Iowa Hawkeyes during the third quarter at Kinnick Stadium. | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

No scholarship running back is that close to Tullis, standing at 234 pounds in weight. He's not a very explosive running back -- only two of his carries went for 15+ yards last year. That's part of exactly the point of why Tullis should be the guy in on those third- or perhaps fourth-and-short situations.

The pass-blocking is a concern, but Tullis' larger frame makes it easier to run that "three yards and a cloud of dust" play, plus he's a good enough back in the pass game to have that be a factor while he's on the field. Parrish would be a decent guy to also pair up with Tullis; he was third on Western Kentucky in receptions (360) as a true freshman.

Oct 18, 2025; Bloomington, Indiana, USA; Michigan State Spartans running back Brandon Tullis (7) runs with the ball during the first half against the Indiana Hoosiers at Memorial Stadium. | Robert Goddin-Imagn Images