Michigan State Football: Final report card for 2018 season

STATE COLLEGE, PA - OCTOBER 13: Brian Lewerke #14 of the Michigan State Spartans hands off to La'Darius Jefferson #15 of the Michigan State Spartans against the Penn State Nittany Lions on October 13, 2018 at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /

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EAST LANSING, MI – AUGUST 31: LJ Scott #3 of the Michigan State Spartans tries to run through the tackle of Gaje Ferguson #23 of the Utah State Aggies at Spartan Stadium on August 31, 2018 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

RUNNING BACKS. C-. . RB. Michigan State

It was a disappointing season for the backfield, but this, too, was largely dependent on the offensive line which had the worst season, arguably, of any position group.

LJ Scott was expected to take the reins in the backfield and become that workhorse that he worked his whole Michigan State career toward. He struggled through injuries all year and finished with 264 yards on just 3.3 per touch. He didn’t have an effective year, by any means, but he looked like the most effective back when he was healthy.

Connor Heyward led the team with 529 yards and five touchdowns on 4.5 yards per touch but he didn’t look like the lead back of the future in any game but at Maryland.

Freshman La’Darius Jefferson had 255 yards and two touchdowns but showed that the move from quarterback to running back takes some getting used to. He could be a feature on offense next year but will have to hold off Heyward, Elijah Collins and a couple of incoming freshman backs.

Overall, it was a disappointing season for the Spartan backfield, averaging 3.5 yards per carry which was down considerably from last year.

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