One of the biggest failures of the Mel Tucker era was Michigan State's inability to run the football — outside of a magical season from Kenneth Walker III in 2021.
The Spartans ranked 53rd (out of 133 teams) in rushing with Walker in the backfield that season, but in Tucker's three other seasons leading the program Michigan State finished 122nd, 111th and 127th in running the football. That lack of production on the ground has been frustrating to watch, but one college football analyst believes the tide is about to change in East Lansing.
Mike Golic Jr. had high praise for new Michigan State offensive line coach Jim Michalczik, who comes over from Oregon State with head coach Jonathan Smith. During the same stretch in which Tucker's teams struggled to run the football, Smith and Michalczik built a powerful rushing attack in Corvallis.
From 2020-23, Oregon State ranked 33rd, 19th, 28th and 58th in the nation in rushing yards per game. The Beavers also produced excellent lead running backs on those teams. Damien Martinez rushed for 2,167 yards (6.1 per carry) and 16 touchdowns over the past two seasons, while B.J. Baylor ran for 1,337 yards (5.9 ypc) and 13 TDs in 2021 and Jermar Jefferson ran for 858 yards (6.5 ypc) and seven touchdowns in just seven games in 2020.
That should be music to the ears of current Michigan State tailback Nathan Carter, an excellent tailback who was limited by the Spartans' poor O-line play in 2023. Last season, Carter ran for 798 yards (4.3 ypc) and four touchdowns for MSU.
There's a lot for Smith to fix as he takes over the program in East Lansing, and offensive line is one of the most difficult positions to improve. Michalczik will need time to recruit and develop talent at Michigan State, but the Spartans' ground game should experience an up-tick in production as time goes on.
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