Michigan State Football: Kenneth Walker III is already a Spartan legend

From the first play of the season, it was clear that Kenneth Walker III was just cut from a different cloth. He was special and Michigan State football fans were about to find that out.

The Michigan game cemented his legacy as a Spartan legend.

Fresh off his second-worst performance of the season and a bye week, Walker III had the best game of his career, rushing for 197 yards and five touchdowns against one of the best defenses in the country. He went from Heisman candidate to Heisman favorite almost overnight.

It was his third game of at least 190 yards on the season and fourth of over 170 yards. He officially broke the 1,000-yard mark on Saturday against the Wolverines, becoming the first 1,000-yard rusher since Jeremy Langford in 2014.

Walker III’s transition from unknown recruit to Heisman favorite has been a sight to behold and one of the best stories in college football.

When Walker III committed to Michigan State after entering the transfer portal this offseason, no one really knew what to expect, but teammates and coaches raved about him all spring.

There was a feeling that he could be solid, but no one knew just how good he really was.

Now we know that he’s special. He’s not just special, but he’s solidified himself as a Spartan legend just eight games into his career.

Is that an overreaction? Not at all, especially since he’s a top Heisman contender and the fact that he just had his “Heisman moment” against rival Michigan in a winning effort, scoring five touchdowns and putting the Spartans on his back in the biggest game of his career.

Walker is that dude and a Spartan legend.

Where Walker ranks in terms of all-time Michigan State football RBs

When you look at Walker’s numbers through eight games, he’s on pace to have the best season since Lorenzo White in 1985. If he continues his pace of averaging 150 yards per game on the ground, he would break Le’Veon Bell’s mark of 1,793 yards in 2012 in just the regular season.

Walker already has one of the top-10 all-time single-game rushing marks in Michigan State history when he rushed for 264 yards in the regular-season opener against Northwestern. That ranks seventh all-time at Michigan State.

As for his regular-season totals, he’s just 226 rushing yards away from TJ Duckett’s 10th all-time mark of 1,420 back in 2001. He’s 328 away from the top five, passing up Langford’s mark of 1,522 back in 2014. He would need 872 more to break White’s all-time single-season record of 2,066 back in 1985.

In terms of rushing touchdowns, his five against Michigan were second all-time behind Blake Ezor’s six against Northwestern in 1989. His 14 on the year are just two away from top-10 all-time at Michigan State for a single season and he’s on pace to have a top-three season in school history in terms of touchdowns.

Although he’s just eight games into his Michigan State career, he’s close to entering the record books and if he keeps this torrid pace going over the final four games, he’ll be in New York for the Heisman ceremony.

Walker is already a Spartan legend and the Michigan win cemented that legacy.