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Michigan State Football: 3 biggest surprises from 2021 season

By Connor Muldowney

Michigan State tight end Connor Heyward catches for a touchdown against Pittsburgh during the second half of the Spartans' 31-21 win in the Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021.
Michigan State tight end Connor Heyward catches for a touchdown against Pittsburgh during the second half of the Spartans' 31-21 win in the Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021. /
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Michigan State’s Kenneth Walker III avoids a tackle by Michigan’s R.J. Moten during his touchdown run during the fourth quarter on Saturday, Oct. 30, 2021, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing.
Michigan State’s Kenneth Walker III avoids a tackle by Michigan’s R.J. Moten during his touchdown run during the fourth quarter on Saturday, Oct. 30, 2021, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing. /

Was there a single person who wasn’t shocked by the type of season Kenneth Walker III was going to have? Everyone expected him to be an upgrade at the position and we heard all offseason heading into the 2021 campaign that he was going to be really, really good but we didn’t think that meant Doak Walker Award winner good.

Walker came to Michigan State from Wake Forest after back-to-back 579-yard seasons with 17 total rushing scores and he went out and racked up 1,646 yards and 18 touchdowns on 6.2 yards per carry in his lone season in East Lansing.

The junior running back single-handedly led the Spartans to a number of wins when the rest of the offense struggled and the argument could be made that Michigan State doesn’t even win 10 games without him in the backfield. He was that important.

Who would have thought that a Wake Forest transfer running back who split carries for two years would win the Doak Walker and lead the Spartans to a New Year’s Six bowl? Definitely not me.

Next. MSU basketball: 5 bold predictions for January. dark

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