Michigan State Football: 5 biggest storylines after spring 2018

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UNIVERSITY PARK, PA – NOVEMBER 26: LJ Scott #3 of the Michigan State Spartans carries the ball past John Reid #29 of the Penn State Nittany Lions during the first quarter on November 26, 2016 at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images) /

3. LJ Scott molding into workhorse back

Over the past three seasons, LJ Scott has slowly seen his workload increase. As a freshman in 2015, he carried the ball 146 times for 699 yards and 11 touchdowns. During his sophomore season, his carries increased by 38 and he reached 994 yards and six scores. Finally, as a junior, he had 898 yards and eight touchdowns on 17 additional carries.

With Gerald Holmes and Madre London gone, we can expect Scott to finally get the carries that a No. 1 back should. He’s likely to finish with close to 300, maybe even more, and if you want a comparison, Le’Veon Bell rushed the ball 382 times in 2012.

Michigan State won’t need to rely on Scott as much as it did Bell back in 2012 as the offense is much further along than the Andrew Maxwell-led unit from the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl-winning season.

We can expect Scott to near the 300-rush mark and it’ll be interesting to see what he’s able to do with that increased workload as well as if he’s able to protect the ball — as you know, fumbles nearly cost him a major role in the offense a year ago.

Could Scott approach a Bell-type season?

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