Michigan State Football: Positional grades for Youngstown State win

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Michigan State’s Jordon Simmons runs for a gain against Youngstown State during the third quarter on Saturday, Sept. 11, 2021, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing.210911 Msu Youngstown Fb 236a /

Running Backs: A

Once again, the running backs were fantastic. In the opener, Michigan State had Kenneth Walker III go off for 264 yards and four touchdowns on 23 carries, and on Saturday, he finished with 57 yards and a touchdown on seven carries as it looked pretty clear that Mel Tucker was trying to keep him healthy for the Miami game.

On the year, Walker III is 321 yards and five touchdowns on just 30 carries. Just an incredible start to his Spartan career.

But against Youngstown State, it was Jordon Simmons who got a bulk of the carries, finishing with 16 touches for 121 yards and I was really impressed with his ability to hit the holes hard and drive his legs to pick up extra yards. He never tip-toes around running lanes, he goes full-speed and he’s always falling forward. He continues to impress.

Elijah Collins got his first touches of the season, rushing three times for 32 yards with a long of 16 and he even caught a short screen pass and took it 20 yards for a touchdown but seemed hobbled after a hit he took in the end zone and never returned.

Donovan Eaglin saw his first action as well, rushing six times for 33 yards as he looked like a really solid fourth or fifth option.

Harold Joiner came in the game late after being injured against Northwestern but didn’t get any touches.

Michigan State finished with 272 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 7.2 yards per touch.

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