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Published Dec 16, 2021
Walker opts out of bowl game; What's next for RBs at MSU in '22?
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Jim Comparoni  •  Spartans Illustrated
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East Lansing, Mich -- Kenneth Walker III announced on Thursday that he will not play in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl and will opt out of his senior season in order to pursue a professional career.

The decision comes as no surprise to Michigan State football coaches and shouldn’t surprise Michigan State fans who watched Walker have one of the best single-season performances in school history.

Michigan State head coach Mel Tucker revealed on Monday that he had had a long conversation with Walker prior to the weekend and would support the All-American tailback in whatever decision he made.

MSU’s practice for the Peach Bowl began on Tuesday without Walker. Now, attention will turn to MSU's running back picture for the bowl game and the 2022 season (more on that below), as well as Pittsburgh QB Kenny Pickett, who revealed last weekend that he hadn't decided whether he will play in the bowl game. Pickett threw for 4,319 yards ths season wth 42 TD passes.

On Thursday, Walker and Michigan State announced the decision via social media and a press release shortly after 3 p.m.

“It has been a true honor to represent Michigan State University and wear the green and white,” Walker said via Twitter. “I am beyond grateful to Coach Tucker and the entire staff for believing in me and giving me the opportunity to shine under their leadership.

“I would like to thank God, my family, my teammates, fans and all my coaches over the years for helping me become the player and man I am today. I will forever be a Spartan Dawg.”

On Thursday, Tucker released a statement of support.

“I want to congratulate Ken for all of his success and thank him for taking a chance on us,” Tucker said. “From the day he set foot on campus in January, he has done nothing but work extremely hard and represent Michigan State University with class. He quickly earned the respect of his teammates and coaches, and they were happy to share in his success and accolades.

“He is a special player and I’m proud of everything he was able to achieve this season,” Tucker said. “K9 will always be a Spartan Dawg.”

Walker was named a unanimous first-team All-American and became the first Spartan to win the Walter Camp National Player of the Year and the Doak Walker Award.

Walker, who was also named the Big Ten Running Back of the Year, ranks second in the FBS with 1,636 rushing yards (136.3 ypg) and has 18 rushing touchdowns.

Walker’s 1,636 rushing yards are the fourth most by a Spartan in a single season in school history. His 18 rushing TDs are tied for fifth most in an MSU season and his 19 overall TDs (one receiving score) are tied for fourth most.

Walker finished sixth in the Heisman Trophy voting. He finished the regular season leading the FBS in rushing yards after contact (1,168), 20-plus yard carries (21) and missed forced tackles (89).

Walker had eight 100-yard rushing games this season, including two 200-yard games (264 vs. Northwestern on Sept. 3; 172 at Miami on Sept. 18; 126 vs. Western Kentucky on Sept. 25; 233 at Rutgers on Oct. 9; 197 vs. Michigan on Oct. 30; 136 at Purdue on Nov. 6; 143 vs. Maryland on Nov. 13; 138 vs. Penn State on Nov. 27). Following a record-breaking performance in the 37-33 win over No. 6 Michigan on Oct. 30, Walker collected several honors, including National Offensive Player of the Week (Walter Camp Football Foundation, Maxwell Award, The Athletic) and Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week.

Walker rushed for five touchdowns, the most by any player ever against the Wolverines, and finished with a total of 197 yards on just 23 carries (8.6 avg.). His scores came on runs of 27 and 8 yards in the second quarter, 1 yard in the third quarter, and 58 and 23 yards in the fourth quarter. He also had 208 all-purpose yards (197 rushing, 11 receiving).

The five TDs tied for the second most in school history (record: six by Blake Ezor vs. Northwestern in 1989; five by Javon Ringer vs. Eastern Michigan in 2008). Walker's 94-yard touchdown run in the third quarter at Rutgers on Oct. 9 was the longest rush in the 125-year history of Michigan State football, bettering a 90-yard by Lynn Chandnois vs. Arizona in 1949. It was also the longest offensive play from scrimmage in school history, topping the 93-yard pass from Tony Banks to Nigea Carter vs. Indiana in 1994. Walker finished with 29 carries for 233 yards against the Scarlet Knights. Walker had a record-setting debut as a Spartan, rushing for a career-high 264 yards – the seventh-highest total in school history – while scoring a career-high four touchdowns to lead the Spartans past Northwestern on Sept. 3. It marked the most rushing yards by a Spartan in a debut wearing the green and white.

Walker became just the second Spartan to record more than 250 rushing yards and four touchdowns in the same game (Eric Allen, school-record 350 yards and four TDs vs. Purdue on Oct. 30, 1971).

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WHAT’S NEXT

Without Walker, Michigan State will take on the nation’s No. 6-ranked rush defense on Dec. 30 at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. Pittsburgh is holding teams, on average, to 2.7 yards per carry and 91.8 rushing yards per game.

The bowl game will serve as a preview for MSU’s run game picture for the 2022 season. Junior Elijah Collins, who was MSU’s feature running back as a freshman in 2019, might get a chance to regain first-string status, depending on how he performs in bowl practice.

Collins emerged as the No. 2 running back for the final game of the season against Penn State on Nov. 27. While Walker had 30 carries for 138 yards, Collins took second-string reps and had five carries for 19 yards, including a 10-yarder.

Collins also had a reception for 11 yards.

Auburn transfer Harold Joiner worked as the third-string tailback for the first time this season. He had one carry for a loss of 2 yards. Joiner also had one reception for 7 yards.

Collins had 10 snaps of playing time against Penn State.

Joiner played played eight snaps.

Sophomore Jordon Simmons, who led Michigan State in rushing in 2020 as a true freshman, saw his role decrease as the season progressed. He did not get an offensive rep against Penn State, but he had four snaps of playing time on special teams.

On the season, Simmons is the team’s second-leading rusher with 255 yards, averaging 4.7 yards per carry with 0 TDs. His longest run of the season was good for 24 yards.

Collins played in only six games this year after going down with a lower body injury while scoring on a TD reception against Youngstown State.

Collins finished the year with 87 net rushing yards on just 12 carries, but averaged 7.3 yards per carry.

Joiner had 11 rushes on the year, netting 35 yards (3.2 per carry).

Redshirt-freshman Donovan Eaglin had six carries for 33 yards (5.5 per carry).

COMP'S TAKE:

1. I'm happy for Walker. He's a humble, team-oriented guy who came to Michigan State as a business decision and became a beloved teammate. If he had played in the bowl game, I would have been nervous for his health the entire game.

He played hurt for most of the second half of the season. If he had been healthy for the bowl game, there's a chance he would have put forth another dazzling performance for us to remember him by, and to help his NFL Draft stock. However, there is also a chance that Pitt's terrific run defense would have shut him down.

His pro aspirations should be at the forefront of his mind now, and he was wise to make this decision. It's hard to argue with any Draft-eligible college player who opts out of a non-Playoff bowl game.

Kenny Willekes revealed in 2018 that he was planning to enter the NFL Draft following his junior season, but he went down with a broken leg in the Red Box Bowl against Oregon in Santa Clara, Calif. He returned for his senior seaosn in 2019 and became a seventh round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. Walker is expecte to go higher than that next spring, but wisely didn't want to risk injury in the postseason.

2. As for Michigan State's RB picture: Collins, at his best in 2019, wasn’t nearly as good as Walker. We all know that. But he ranked No. 4 in the Big Ten in rushing with 988 yards. He was third-team All-Big Ten and had three 100-yard rushing games, including 192 against Western Michigan. He had 170 against Illinois and 108 against Rutgers.

Collins was slowed by a bout with COVID-19 in 2020.

There was optimism around Collins during training camp in 2021 when coaches said he began looking like the Collins of 2019 that they had seen on film. But Walker earned the starting job, and Collins supported him as a vocal hype man.

When Collins finished the Maryland game with a couple of sharp runs in mop up time, Walker sprinted onto the field to congratulate and support Collins, the same way Collins had supported Walker all year.

Now, Collins will get a shot during bowl practice to show that he can regain stride as a feature back for the Spartans. Meanwhile, Simmons will presumably aim to do the same.

In the process, the tailbacks - and Michigan State coaches - will get an idea as to which tailback will go into winter conditioning and 2022 spring practice as the leader of the depth chart.

In the meantime, Wisconsin transfer Jalen Berger, who will enroll at Michigan State in January, will be primed to compete for the job.

Berger (6-1, 205, Newark, NJ) led Wisconsin in rushing in 2020 as a true freshman with 301 yards (5.0 per carry) in four games. He rushed for 93 yards on 15 carries against Wisconsin. He rushed for 87 yards against Michigan and 87 against Indiana.

In 2021, Berger netted 88 yards rushing (3.7 per carry) in three games. He lost his starting job and had a reduced, third-string role prior to entering his name in the transfer portal in September.

3. Sources told SpartanMag.com that Michigan State will be looking for another running back in the transfer portal in the coming weeks and months.

Michigan State has shown interest in Georgia Tech transfer Jahmyr Gibbs, but sources tell SpartanMag.com that Gibbs has not reciprocated interest to Michigan State.

Is there room for Berger, Collins, Simmons, Joiner and Eaglin in the running back room? In the age of the transfer portal and the task of getting down to the 85 scholarship limit, probably not.

Could one or more of those players entertain the possibility of a position change? Last year’s opening-game starter at running back, Connor Heyward, made a successful move to tight end for the 2021 season. At 6-foot-4, and having already used his immediate transfer, Joiner might pose the best potential to move to another position, with tight end being a position of need. But first, he will get extra opportunities to show his value at running back during bowl practice.

As for Simmons, he had some strong moments as a true freshman in 2020. He rushed for a season-high 76 yards in the final game of his freshman season at Penn State. However, he role waned as the 2021 season progressed. Collins seemed to have a little more jump in his step than Simmons early in the season and at the end of the season when Collins returned from injury - and Collins’ rise in the pecking order was reflective of that. It will be interesting to see how the competition between the two shakes out in bowl practice.

4. PREDICTION: Collins will emerge as the starting tailback for the bowl game (if he can stay healthy this month). But Pittsburgh will contain the Spartan run game and Collins - although a capable back - won't have a great day. MSU fans will miss K-9, but must also realize that Walker was special. This will spark more speculation about the RB job for 2022, although Collins has proven in the past that he can be a feature back at this level. It will also advertise a job opening at Michigan State to any running backs who enter the portal after the bowl games.

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