High turnover within a position group typically is a negative. For Michigan State, turnover at the running back position doesn't look like it's been all that bad.
This offseason, the Spartans lost running backs Jarek Broussard (NFL Draft) and Elijah Collins (Oklahoma State). Those players were subsequently replaced by UConn transfer Nathan Carter and South Florida transfer Jaren Mangham.
Before transferring to South Florida, Mangham played under now MSU head coach Mel Tucker at Tucker’s previous stop, Colorado. Tucker is familiar with what the 6-foot-2 Mangham brings to the table as a running back.
“He’s a big back,” Tucker said about Mangham after the Spartan Football Kickoff event on April 15. “(He) hits the hole with really good velocity. He can make you miss and he can get tough yards after contact. He’s a smart player and he’s got really good ball skills, catching the ball out of the backfield. He understands pass protection as well.”
Carter is new to the Spartans’ offensive system as a transfer from Connecticut. He’s not as big as Mangham, but Carter has made a big impression this spring.
“He’s got really good explosiveness through the hole, really good acceleration,” Tucker said about Carter. “He’s got good vision and he runs with a lot of toughness. He also has really good ball skills.”
First experience inside Spartan Stadium in front of fans
At UConn, Carter was not on the stage that he is now on at MSU. After Saturday’s practice inside Spartan Stadium, Carter spoke to the media about how “blessed” he was to be at MSU.
“Just being here and seeing how big that stadium is, seeing how many people came out to support, it was definitely breathtaking,” Carter said. “I’m just blessed to be here, I really am. To just play in that stadium in front of all those fans that came out to support. You don’t want to take it for granted. It was a blessing to be out there.”
This was also Mangham’s first experience inside Spartan Stadium playing in front of the MSU fans. On top of that, Mangham got to walk onto the field with his younger brother, safety Jaden Mangham, for the first time at MSU. Jaren has never played with Jaden before.
“It was pretty cool,” Mangham said about his first time in front of fans at Spartan Stadium. “That was an exciting moment. I got little goosebumps in the warmups. It was a great experience to be able to walk out for the first time out the tunnel with my little brother. So that was pretty cool.”
Jaren Mangham said jokingly that he is still waiting to meet Jaden Mangham in the hole and that they haven’t hit each other in practice yet.
In February, the elder Mangham said his "heart led" him to Michigan State.
Adjusting to a new offense
Carter is “very comfortable” with MSU’s offense and scheme up to this point. He credited running backs coach Effrem Reed, saying that he’s been helpful for Carter as he learns the new scheme.
Carter had previously said that he took a "leap a faith" when he entered the transfer portal, and that the vision that Reed and Michigan State had for him drew him to the Spartans.
Along with former Wisconsin transfer Jalen Berger, Michigan State has three running backs that were featured heavily in the final spring practice. Davion Primm and Jordon Simmons are also options in the backfield.
Mangham thinks that feeding off the other backs helps the room and team as a whole.
“We've got a very good room,” Mangham said about the running backs. “Just coming in and pushing each other and getting better each and every day, that's really kind of been a driving point.”
MSU’s running game struggled last season as the Spartans averaged just 113 rushing yards per game in 2022 (111th in FBS). While Carter had nothing to do with that, he believes that the rushing attack has potential to grow this season.
“We have a lot of potential,” Carter said. “We have a lot of guys who are playmakers. We have a lot of guys who can do very different things for our offense and for our team, which is really, really good for us. Competition breeds excellence.”
