Michigan State football: 15 greatest running backs in Spartans history
By John Buhler
Sedrick Irvin grew up in Miami playing football in the shadow of his older cousin Michael Irvin. While his cousin had an outstanding college career at the University of Miami and professionally with the Dallas Cowboys, Sedrick Irvin had to make a name for himself playing in the Big Ten for Michigan State.
After being named a High School All-American, Irvin first made his way to East Lansing in 1996. While most running backs usually end up buried on the depth chart as freshmen, that was not the case for Irvin. He rushed for 1,067 yards and 16 touchdowns on 237 carries, as well as catch 40 balls for 337 yards and two touchdowns out of the Michigan State backfield.
Irvin rushed for over 1,000 yards in all three seasons he played at Michigan State. As a sophomore in 1997, Irvin set a career-best with 1,270 yards on 246 carries for nine rushing touchdowns. He also had 40 catches for 346 yards and four touchdowns for the Spartans.
In what was his final year at Michigan State in 1998, Irvin had 272 carries for 1,167 yards and 10 rushing touchdowns. He ended up with 28 catches for 210 yards in that final collegiate campaign of his before turning pro.
Irvin left school a year early, as he ended up being a fourth-round pick by the Detroit Lions in the 1999 NFL Draft. Deemed too slow to be able to succeed at the NFL level, he led the Lions in rushing touchdowns as a backup to James Stewart during his prime. Unfortunately, injuries caught up to Irvin and he was out of the after three seasons. After playing in the Arena League and NFL Europe, Irvin’s playing career was done in 2005. He has since gone into coaching.
In three seasons with Michigan State, Irvin amassed 3,504 rushing yards on 755 carries for 35 touchdowns, as well as 108 catches for 893 yards and six touchdowns. Irvin ranks in the top five in all three of those rushing categories in Spartans’ history. Being able to do all this in three years and rush for 1,000 yards every season has him on the Michigan State running back Mount Rushmore.