Michigan State running back Nate Carter announced he will be declaring for the 2025 NFL Draft on X (formerly Twitter) today.
Carter was Michigan State’s leading rusher in 2023 and split running duties with Kay'Ron Lynch-Adams for most of the 2024 season. He had another year of eligibility remaining, but he appears to be forgoing it. He has until Jan. 18 to rescind his declaration and return to college, if he so chooses.
The Rochester, New York native began his collegiate career at UConn in 2020, where his freshman year got delayed due to the Huskies not playing football that year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Carter had 578 rushing yards during the 2021 campaign, which was his first and only full season at UConn. He had 405 yards in five games in 2022, but got injured in just the fifth game of the year and received a medical redshirt from the NCAA as a result.
After those two successful seasons at UConn, the former two-star recruit decided to enter the transfer portal and ended up at Michigan State back in December 2022.
After a team-leading 798-yard campaign in 2023 and a head coaching change, he decided to stick around with the Green and White for 2024.
Carter saw his role decrease a bit with Jonathan Smith bringing in Lynch-Adams from UMass, but he still had his best game of his Spartan career against Michigan this year, racking up 174 scrimmage yards and a touchdown on 21 touches.
On the 2024 season as a whole, Carter rushed 116 times for 499 yards (4.3 yards per carry) and five touchdowns. He added 18 receptions for 173 receiving yards and two additional scores.
Overall, Carter totaled 301 carries for 1,297 rushing yards (4.3 yards per carry) and nine rushing touchdowns at MSU. He also amassed 40 receptions for an additional 276 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
With Carter and Lynch-Adams both exiting the program, running back becomes an even bigger need for Smith and the Spartan offense this transfer portal cycle. Michigan State’s leading returning running back, as of Dec. 6, is Makhi Frazier — he only toted the rock seven times for 21 yards in 2024 as a true freshman. Fellow true freshman running back Brandon Tullis also recorded seven carries for 20 yards on the year.
Meanwhile, Michigan State was able to sign 2025 high-three-star running back Jace Clarizio out East Lansing High School — whom the Spartans flipped back from Alabama on Wednesday — and three-star running back Zion Gist during the Early Signing Period this week.
The options for MSU running back-wise in the transfer portal will become more clear in the days shortly after the portal officially opens up on Monday, Dec. 9. It is expected that the Spartans will take at least one running back prior to spring ball.