Elijah Tau-Tolliver came over from Sacramento State to Michigan State in the offseason before Jonathan Smith’s final season in 2025 and he was expected to assume the role of backup behind Makhi Frazier.
Not only was Tau-Tolliver the backup to Frazier, but he even split those No. 2 duties with Brandon Tullis, recording 72 carries to his fellow backfield mate’s 69.
Tau-Tolliver was much more effective with his carries, averaging 5.9 yards per carry while Tullis finished with a 4.4 yards per carry average. Neither is “bad”, by any means, but that was just proof that Tau-Tolliver was underrated and probably should have gotten a bulk of the RB2 workload instead of splitting it with Tullis.
The Sacramento State transfer played just one season in East Lansing before entering the draft process where he went unselected before signing with the Baltimore Ravens’ practice squad.
Now, with some injuries rocking the league, Tau-Tolliver is getting his first real opportunity to shine at the next level, working out this week for the Miami Dolphins who just lost star running back De’Von Achane to a season-ending knee injury. They have Ollie Gordon and Jaylen Wright filling in while he undergoes surgery and misses the rest of the year, but they’re looking for more help.
That’s where Tau-Tolliver is hoping to come in.
#Dolphins worked out Amari Burney, Jack Dingle, James Ester (signed), Brandon George, Hassan Haskins, Damien Martinez, Dassan McCullough, Kenny McIntosh, Antwaun Powell-Ryaland, T.J. Quinn, Elijah Tau-Tolliver, Nathan Voorhis
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) September 29, 2026
There are some familiar names on that list of recently worked out running backs like Hassan Haskins who played for Michigan and Damien Martinez who was Jonathan Smith’s running back at Oregon State. Tau-Tolliver is hoping for a chance with the Dolphins, but with 11 other backs getting tryouts, he’ll probably need a miracle to sign with Miami.
You never know, though. With Achane out for the year, Miami is going to get desperate and take a chance on an undrafted running back. Hopefully it’s Tau-Tolliver.
Elijah Tau-Tolliver would’ve thrived under Pat Fitzgerald
Unfortunately for both Tau-Tolliver and Michigan State, the Sacramento State transfer played during the wrong era of Spartan football.
Smith did utilize him a decent amount behind Frazier, but he probably should have been getting starting snaps all season with how effective he was as a runner and overall offensive weapon. He had 567 total yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns in 2025 while Frazier — the starter — had just 545 yards and two touchdowns.
Not only was Tau-Tolliver under-utilized by Smith and the previous regime, but he will go down as one of the most underrated Spartans in program history and it’s mostly due to the era he played in.
If he was on Pat Fitzgerald’s current roster, he’d be the favorite to replace Edwards as RB1 after his season-ending injury and he’d probably be putting up some impressive numbers. Man, he missed having the opportunity of a lifetime by one year. The Dolphins could make up for that by signing him to the 53-man roster.
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