Spartans have strength in numbers at running back
East Lansing – There are problems. Then there are problems that aren't really problems.
Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio has one of the latter when it comes to his running backs.
There are too many of them.
"Those top three guys, they're all capable of carrying the ball 30 times a game and being the featured back," Dantonio said Monday. "That's a good problem to have if you're the coach. I know everybody wants to play.
"But we've done a good job, I think, trying to work everybody in there, and the go-to guy becomes the guy with the hot hand. I think we've had each of those guys be the hot guy."
Those three guys are sophomores LJ Scott and Madre London, and junior Gerald Holmes.
With the Spartans preparing to break in a new quarterback, following the graduation of Connor Cook, the theory is the run game will be relied on to carry the load, at least early in the season.
The top three never totally separated themselves in 2015, with Scott rushing for 699 yards and 11 touchdowns, Holmes 550 yards and eight TDs and London 500 yards and three scores.
And Holmes, for one, is OK if none separates themselves again. In fact, he said if at the end of the season, all the stats are generally equal again, he'll be just fine with that. Unselfishness is a trademark of Dantonio's Spartans.
"We all have years under our belt and experience playing. We're going to have a bigger role this year and have to make some plays to help accomplish things," said Holmes, a 6-foot-2, 222-pounder from Flint.
"It is good because we are all fresh, and you can't key in on one running back."
Still, there are egos. And there are strong desires to be the featured back – given what's at stake, including the potential for millions of dollars, at the next level.
That's why the top three acknowledge there is a strong competition, at least in practice.
But that's where they're able to leave it. Off the field, the bond is strong, even if those heated video games of "Madden" get annoying because London always wins, and won't ever stop talking trash.
"We look after each other," said Scott, from Hubbard, Ohio. "Try to support each other throughout the day."
Scott made perhaps the biggest play by an MSU running back in 2015, with that huge late touchdown against Iowa in the Big Ten championship game, which put the Spartans into the College Football Playoff.
He famously lunged for that last yard, and amazingly held on to the ball for the score.
London was big in the win over Oregon, Holmes in the victory over Ohio State.
MSU’s LJ Scott is Fox Sports’ No. 2 breakout player
Some analysts expect Scott to emerge as the guy this season, and he's certainly taken strides to make that happen. He's down to around 225 pounds, from 240 last season, thanks to self-imposed diet.
Scott said he feels the benefits of the dropped baggage already, particularly in the speed department.
And his fellow running backs rave about his willingness to take such a proactive role in his own conditioning. And they've been impressed with his attitude throughout the process, which has included severely smaller food portions.
"Nah, he's not cranky," London, a 6-1, 206-pounder from Little Rock, Arkansas, said with a laugh.
Scott, who's 6-1, said he, London and Holmes all bring something different to the run game.
And Dantonio agreed.
"Madre is a little bit more of a slasher. LJ is a quick-cut guy, vertical guy. Gerald, he runs his feet on contact. He's got good vision, he can run away from you," Dantonio said. "I really can't say what's going to separate guys.
"It might be their pass protection. Might be how they catch the ball out of the backfield. It might be how they're playing that particular game. But they're all considered starters."
Still, running backs coach and co-offensive coordinator Dave Warner said it would be his preference to see somebody emerge, or perhaps two of them emerge as the featured backs.
Three can be a crowd, and four can be even tougher to game-plan.
That's where Delton Williams, a 6-1, 228-pounder from Erie, Pennsylvania, comes into play. He ranked third on the team with 316 rushing yards as a sophomore in 2014, but saw limited action last season.
He also was coming off an arrest and suspension after brandishing a firearm in public. He returned to the team in July, but only saw action in nine games and only carried the ball 26 times, seventh-most on the team.
"You are going to fall," said Williams, who will be deployed as a fullback this season. “It all depends on how you come back from it. How you approach your second chance, and how fast you get back up.”
Lots of experts aren't overly high on Michigan State this season, despite a 12-2 season a year ago, an appearance in the playoffs – albeit, a semifinal drubbing by Alabama – and a No. 6 ranking in the final poll, the third straight in the top six for the Spartans.
Ohio State and Michigan are drawing bigger hype, probably because Michigan State loses Cook and receiver Aaron Burbridge, and lots of talent on the offensive line.
But Michigan State's defense – particularly its secondary – is promising, and the running back group is possibly as deep as it's ever been under Dantonio, who's entering his 10th season.
"Collectively as a group," Dantonio said of the running backs, "it may be as deep as there is in the country."
tpaul@detroitnews.com
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