East Lansing — If the expectations from pundits and oddsmakers aren’t very high for Michigan State football this season, don’t say that to its new transfer running back Cam Edwards.
After rushing for 1,240 yards and 15 touchdowns at Connecticut last season, Edwards comes to Michigan State as the centerpiece of a retooled backfield that will see extensive action this season. His goal is to be the best running back in the country, and with that win a whole lot of games for the Spartans.
“Most importantly, I want to win,” Edwards said. “I want to win a lot of games here. I want to win the national championship. I want to win a Big Ten championship. I want to be the best running back in the country.”
That is a high bar, especially for a program coming off a 4-8 season, its fourth straight losing campaign that caused the second coaching change in two calendar years when Pat Fitzgerald took over for the fired Jonathan Smith in December. Vegas oddsmakers project the Spartans to win 3 ½ games, while USA Today’s preseason Big Ten poll ranked them 17th — only Purdue, winless the past two seasons in conference play, ranked lower.
One reason for low expectations: roster turnover. After losing dozens of players to the transfer portal, Fitzgerald not only had to put together a new staff, but also a new roster. There are nearly 30 transfers with the Spartans this season. Edwards may have been the biggest addition. If not, it’s a familiar face in his old left tackle, 6-foot-7 mauler Ben Murawski, who also made the move from Storrs to East Lansing.
Michigan State has struck gold in the transfer portal before, particularly in the backfield. Kenneth Walker III joined Mel Tucker’s Spartans in 2021 as an unheralded tailback from Wake Forest. He left campus as the Walter Camp Player of the Year.
If Edwards can even be a competent starter, it would be an upgrade for Michigan State. Its run game averaged just 122.8 yards per game last season, which ranked 110th out of 133 Football Bowl Subdivision teams and 15th out of 18 Big Ten peers. More than statistics, the run game lacked reliability even in short-yardage situations, which is something the group hopes to restore this season.
“There’s a lot of factors that go into it,” offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan said. “Certainly, it starts up front, but the runners gotta run through people.”
Enter Edwards.
“He’s played a lot of football. He’s had a lot of carries,” Sheridan said. “He understands some of the intricacies of run schemes for sure. … He certainly has a familiarity and an ability to handle those things. I think some of the intricacies, whether it be protection or route running, he’s just stacking days like the rest of the group and getting better and better, and so he’s doing a great job.”
Edwards is also doing his best to take care of the linemen who make his job possible. He said he’s going to take his big fellas to Capital Prime for a steak dinner before the season. In joint film rooms and team meetings, he sits with the offensive linemen to build rapport.
“I’m just trying to do small things and (get) all of us to come together as a group so we all play as one unit,” Edwards said. “Without them, I’m nothing.”
Moore repping at guard: ‘There’s depth there’
Nobody played more snaps for Michigan State’s offense last season than Conner Moore, the only full-season starter returning on the offensive line. That group needed to take a jump this offseason, and so did Moore.
At 6-foot-6 and 311 pounds, Moore grew an inch and added five pounds in the offseason, though those single-digit figures hide an overall leap in his fitness level. He says he’s feeling the effects already through the opening practices of Michigan State’s fall camp.
“I can just move people better,” Moore said. “I have faster feet, just to get my feet in the ground, which (helps) moving guys … and then being able to redirect in the run game and in pass protection.”
One of the biggest parts of Moore’s offseason growth is in his versatility. A year ago, the right tackle struggled when he got some game reps on the left side, which made for difficulties when starter Stanton Ramil suffered an injury that forced MSU to turn to redshirt freshman Rustin Young.
During spring ball this year, Moore repped often at guard, and that hasn’t changed in fall camp. That includes both the left and right sides. Moore’s ability to play inside and either side opens up more iterations of what coaches call a deep offensive line room.
“It’s been fun so far,” Moore said. “I’ve actually really enjoyed it.”
Michigan State is looking for its offensive line to take a jump. The past two seasons, the Spartans averaged just 119 rushing yards per game while giving up 36 and 37 sacks.
Michigan State named one starter already on the offensive line: FCS All-American center Trent Fraley, who transferred in from North Dakota State (his father, Hank, is the offensive line coach for the Detroit Lions). Ben Murawski is almost certain to start at left tackle barring any major developments, while guard Nick Sharpe is likely to play on one of Fraley’s sides.
The other two positions could come down to a group of viable candidates, Moore among them. Offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan noted that separation will come down to how the group, coached by new offensive line coach Nick Tabacca, performs Thursday and onward when real pads go on.
“I do think there’s depth there,” Sheridan said. “There’s competition there, and we have the first full day of pads tomorrow, so I think it’s a little bit early to really tell you kind of where it lays and who’s where. And it’s always important to cross-train guys — guys that can play both sides, inside, out, snap — because you just don’t know what the season will bring you.”
Moore says he looks forward to getting the pads on and putting his offseason gains into action.
“We finally get to be able to hit people full speed and stuff like that,” Moore said. “And plus, it doesn’t hurt as much. When you’re wearing the spiders and you get hit, it hurts still.”
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@ConnorEaregood
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Cam Edwards aims to be ‘best running back in the country’ for Spartans
Reporting by Connor Earegood, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
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By Connor Earegood, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
