Michigan State Football: 3 biggest surprises from 2019 season

EAST LANSING, MICHIGAN - NOVEMBER 09: Elijah Collins #24 of the Michigan State Spartans gets around the tackle of Dele Harding #9 of the Illinois Fighting Illini for a first half touchdown at Spartan Stadium on November 09, 2019 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

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EAST LANSING, MICHIGAN – NOVEMBER 09: Elijah Collins #24 of the Michigan State Spartans tries to get around the tackle of Sydney Brown #30 of the Illinois Fighting Illini during a first half run at Spartan Stadium on November 09, 2019 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

1. Elijah Collins

A year after losing LJ Scott to graduation, Michigan State’s backfield didn’t look all that promising. Even more disappointing were the mid-season transfers of Connor Heyward and La’Darius Jefferson which left the backfield barren.

Elijah Collins was the only running back left to carry the load with any sort of experience — and that’s because he had one full year in the offense as a redshirt.

But that didn’t stop the redshirt freshman from breaking out and shocking everyone with his monster season. It all started with a huge game against Western Michigan and carried over into the remainder of the year which led to 988 rushing yards and five touchdowns, averaging 4.5 yards per carry.

Collins also had 15 catches for 99 yards and finished the year with over 1,000 all-purpose yards and looked like one of the best young backs in the conference.

Next. Michigan State's all-2010s starting five. dark

If year one of Collins can equate to 988 yards on the ground, just imagine what another 2-3 years in the system can turn into. I see a couple of 1,000-yard seasons in Collins’ future.

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