Going into the 2015 season one of Michigan State’s largest question marks is at running back. The Spartans just recently lost Jeremy Langford and Nick Hill who carried the majority of the workload on the road to the Cotton Bowl. The Spartans will be looking to have another guy that will be a work horse, and someone that is able to fight for inches like previous backs Le’Veon Bell and Jeremy Langford, who are now both running the football on Sundays.
Michigan State Running Back Prediction
Mark Dantonio has done a wonderful job finding the right man for the spot in his tenure. After Bell declared for the draft early, the Spartans were in big need of a guy that could step up and take over that role. That is when Langford, who was switching positions from running back to corner, then tried some wide receiver, and then eventually back to running back where he did a stellar job for Michigan State for two straight years. Now without Langford, MSU is scrambling again to find a running back that can help them get into the four-team playoff.
Going into this year the top candidate to be the starting running back was junior Delton Williams. Unfortunately, after his run-in with the law last spring, Delton Williams is not on the fall roster. This is a big blow to the backfield because Williams carried the ball 54 times last year; the third most carries on the team behind the two departed seniors. With Williams more than likely out of contention for the spot, it leaves the position up for grabs for three underclassmen candidates.
Gerald Holmes, Madre London, and Larry Scott Jr. will all be looking to fill the hole that the Bears fourth round pick Jeremy Langford left. Gerald Holmes is a redshirt sophomore, and he has the most experience out of the three. He ran the ball 15 times last year getting 44 yards for the Spartans. Madre London is a redshirt freshman out of the talent rich St. Aquinas High School. He brings all the tools to make a big impact. Larry Scott Jr. was a top recruit in the 2015 recruiting class out of Ohio. Mark Dantonio did a lot of work to pull Scott out of Urban Meyer’s back yard, and wants him to make an immediate impact on the field.
Coming out of camp, I see London getting the job early. He will be the guy getting most of the carries in the first game against Western Michigan. Dantonio will give all three contenders a chance to run the ball and show off their stuff in the season opener. Holmes, being the most experienced out of the group, will get his fair amount of carries, but in his first two years as a Spartan really has not seemed to impress too much. He is a big physical back, but seems to lack that big play ability that is necessary in the Big Ten. London on the other hand is a shifty and quick back that has good size, and is not afraid to lower his shoulder. The year of experience should be enough to beat out Larry Scott Jr. for the services, and his talent enough to beat out Holmes. London won’t have the job for long though. If not earlier, Scott will more than likely take the role as starter midway through the season. Scott has way too much pure talent to sit the bench. One of the main reasons he picked Michigan State over the Ohio State and other top schools in the country was because he thought he had a chance to make an impact early.
Look for Scott to get the job at some point in the 2015 season and help Michigan State battle Ohio State for the top spot in the Big Ten.
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