Michigan State football: Jalen Berger-Nathan Carter will be solid 1-2 punch

The transfer portal has been fairly kind to Mel Tucker and Michigan State football for the past couple of years and they’re hoping that 2023 is no different.

After a disappointing 5-7 season in which the run game was relatively non-existent, for the most part, Tucker reached into the portal and snagged one of the more overlooked running backs in Nathan Carter, a sophomore from UConn.

Carter had just over 400 yards in four games with the Huskies this past season before suffering a season-ending injury and he averaged a healthy 6.2 yards per carry.

Couple him with Wisconsin transfer Jalen Berger who will be in his second season with the Spartans next season and Michigan State will have a nice 1-2 punch in the backfield.

Berger-Carter could carry Michigan State football’s run game

As we saw this past season, not having a run game makes the entire offense ineffective. Defenses can then key in on the passing game and send guys at the quarterback knowing that he’ll be less accurate with a pass rush in his face. The offense struggled in 2022 with Berger and Jarek Broussard running behind an average offensive line, but that should change.

The line is going to improve (hopefully) with some key pieces coming back and a potential JUCO star in Keyshawn Blackstock on the top of the coaches’ wish list.

But Broussard just never really fit in this offense regardless. He struggled against Big Ten competition because he was a smaller back, but I think that Carter is going to be what we expected Broussard to be. He’s a muscular 5-foot-9, 196 pounds and just looks like he’s built for Big Ten play. He’s about the same height about 10-15 pounds lighter than Kenneth Walker III was.

Berger is 6-foot-1 and 205 pounds, but he can be a bruising back and he has some good speed when he gets into open space. He finished with 683 yards and six touchdowns on 4.6 yards per carry in 2022 which is impressive when you consider the line he was running behind.

I think Carter is a really solid addition and he’ll pair nicely with Berger as the two should carry the run game and hopefully get this offense back on track.

Carter could be a sneaky-good addition.