EAST LANSING - Details are sketchy, coming from Friday’s first Jersey Scrimmage of August camp at Michigan State, but the running back picture doesn’t seem to have cleared. That’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Each of the candidates to win the starting job - Connor Heyward, La’Darius Jefferson, Anthony Williams and Elijah Collins - have drawn compliments during the first week of camp. It’s one of the few starting job competitions on the team this year - maybe the only one, depending on how things shake out among the bevy of returning starters on the offensive line.
At running back, none of the top four have been eliminated. No one has nailed down the top job. Everyone is cautiously optimistic.
“The running backs look good,” Mark Dantonio said prior to practice on Monday. “They had good scrimmages. Elijah Collins looked good. Heyward looked good. All four of them really looked good. Anthony Williams looked good.”
Williams sustained an undisclosed injury and sat out practice on Monday. “He is dinged up a little bit today,” Dantonio said, “But he looked good as well.”
Sources tell SpartanMag that the positive things Williams showed in the spring as a mid-year enrollee carried over to last week’s scrimmage. He’s stepping out as the fastest, most explosive of the backs.
The running backs will continue to get graded, heading into the final Jersey Scrimmage of the fall, at the end of this week.
THE LATEST ON COLLINS
Collins (6-0, 217, R-Fr., Detroit Jesuit) has increased his stock on the race this month. After an encouraging performance in last week’s scrimmage, he was available for interviews on Monday.
“In the scrimmage, the offense represented themselves and did pretty good,” he said. “I did what I could.