Welcome to a new series here at Spartans Illustrated as we will take an individual look at each member of the Michigan State Spartans' 2025 transfer portal class.
Starting the series off is the Spartans' lone running back commitment in the cycle, Sacramento State tailback Elijah Tau-Tolliver.
Tau-Tolliver committed to Michigan State on Dec. 17, 2024, following a visit to East Lansing on Dec. 15 and Dec. 16, 2024. He will have one year of eligibility remaining.
To keep up with all of the Michigan State transfer portal activity, please view the Spartans Illustrated transfer portal tracker.
CAREER OVERVIEW
Tau-Tolliver is a classic case of a player spending their career at the FSC level, continuously getting better, and seeing a rise in production. That's exactly what he did with Sacramento State.
A native of Sparks, Nevada, Tau-Tolliver signed with the Hornets as part of their 2021 recruiting cycle. He was a two-star prospect out of high school, according to Rivals.
As a true freshman in 2021, he appeared in four games and recorded three carries for nine yards, while also contributing on special teams. He was able to redshirt that year.
As a redshirt freshman in 2022, he appeared in 13 games and saw a slightly bigger role with 24 carries for 192 yards. He also averaged 26.6 yards per kick return on 24 attempts, and returned one 95 yards for a touchdown Richmond in the FCS playoffs that season.
In 2023 as a redshirt sophomore, Tau-Tolliver's role continued to increase with with Cam Skattebo transferring to Arizona State. This time, he totaled 64 carries for 387 yards and seven touchdowns, but still played behind Marcus Fulcher. He also recorded seven receptions for 38 yards and continued to contribute as a kick returner, averaging 23 yards per return on 18 attempts.
This past fall in 2024, the Nevada native finally got the opportunity to be the starting running back for Sacramento State. Tau-Tolliver took advantage of the opportunity with 950 rushing yards on 184 attempts and seven touchdowns in 11 games played. He averaged 5.2 yards per carry and 86.4 yards per game. He also recorded an impressive 38 receptions for 317 yards (8.3 yards per catch) and two additional scores. He earned All-Big Sky honorable mention accolades.
HOW DOES TAU-TOLLIVER FIT THE SPARTANS' ROSTER?
Tau-Tolliver will enroll at Michigan State this month (January).
With both running backs Kay'ron Lynch-Adams and Nate Carter departing, the Spartans have an immediate opening for a starting running back or, at the very least, a rotational running back who is used frequently.
With limited experience on the roster returning for the 2025 season, Tau-Tolliver will have the opportunity to compete and be the likely favorite to win the job entering the spring. Even if he were to surprisingly not win the starting job, Tau-Tolliver would provide strong, experienced depth for the Spartans, which could go a long way throughout a Big Ten schedule.
In 2024, MSU assistant head coach/co-special teams coordinator/running backs coach Keith Bhonapha showed that he is willing to use a two-man rotation at the running back position. Both Carter and Lynch-Adams recorded more than 115 carries each this past fall. True freshmen Brandon Tullis and Makhi Frazier saw seven carries each in 2024 and look for bigger roles in the future.
Michigan State also has two running backs coming in from the 2025 class in three-stars Jace Clarizio and Zion Gist. Both of the true freshmen will be early enrollees.
Tau-Tolliver is likely the favorite to lead the backfield in touches for the Spartans in 2025, but it will be interesting to see who else emerges from the young group.
WHAT SHOULD EXPECTATIONS BE FOR TAU-TOLLIVER?
It would probably be fair to have reasonably high expectations for Tau-Tolliver. Running back is one of the few positions in which a player is usually able to make a quality and seamless transition from the FCS level to the FBS level.
We saw the performance of Tau-Tolliver's former teammate, Cam Skattebo, this past fall with Arizona State and he became one of the country's top running backs. While we wouldn't necessarily advise having that level of expectations for Tau-Tolliver, it would be fair to expect the Sacramento State transfer to be able to put up quality production with the Spartans.
Of course, a large chunk of his ability to perform will be at the discretion of the offensive line play that needs to show significant improvement from the 2024 season, but the Spartans have been active in the transfer portal on the offensive line, and there is good reason to believe that Tau-Tolliver will be able to perform at a quality level for MSU next season. A strong baseline for Tau-Tolliver would likely be around 500 to 600 rushing yards, but there will certainly be opportunity for him to far exceed those numbers.
He is considered as a high-three-star transfer running back, according to Rivals.
