Michigan State football RB Elijah Collins enters transfer portal after 5 years
Elijah Collins is making one final run. It likely won’t be for Michigan State football.
The fifth-year senior running back entered his name in the NCAA transfer portal, a program spokesman confirmed Wednesday. Collins has one season of eligibility remaining thanks to the NCAA’s waiver for the 2020 season.
Collins turned in a renaissance performance in 2022, tying with leading rusher Jalen Berger with a team-leading six touchdowns on the ground and finishing second at 318 yards and 70 carries. He also had 14 catches for 93 yards.
And if any player could justify the NCAA’s decision to give players an extra season, it is Collins.
The 6-foot-1, 215-pound former U-D Jesuit star was part of Mark Dantonio’s 2018 recruiting class, then emerged as a redshirt freshman in 2019 with 988 rushing yards on 222 carries with five touchdowns. He entered 2020 as a preseason candidate for the Doak Walker Award that goes to the nation’s top running back.
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But during the following summer, Collins contracted COVID-19 and was a shell of his former self during Mel Tucker’s debut season. Collins played in all seven games in 2020 but ran just 41 times for 90 yards with no scores. He admitted in the spring of 2021 that COVID “took a toll on me” with lost weight and muscle.
Then in 2021, the Spartans got Kenneth Walker III, and the Wake Forest transfer emerged as a star. Collins appeared healthy and scored a touchdown on a screen pass against Youngstown State but suffered an ankle injury on the play and eventually missed six games that season. He finished with 18 carries for 102 yards and no rushing touchdowns in seven games.
MSU’s running backs room continued to get crowded with transfers again during the offseason. Tucker signed Connecticut transfer Nathan Carter last month, and the Spartans also are expected to bring in South Florida transfer Jaren Mangham, who signed with Colorado in 2019 out of Detroit Cass Tech when Tucker was there for one season.
Berger arrived last season from Wisconsin, while former Colorado transfer Jarek Broussard opted to enter the NFL draft after one year with the Spartans. It remains unclear if Harold Joiner III, who transferred to MSU from Auburn before the 2021 season, plans to return for a sixth year of eligibility in 2023. The Spartans also have Jordon Simmons, who will be a senior, and sophomore Davion Primm expected to return at running back.
Ten players from last season’s roster have entered the portal, with safety Tate Hallock announcing Tuesday he plans to leave for his final two seasons of eligibility and long snapper Michael Donovan on Saturday announcing his transfer to Miami (Florida). Players who enter the portal also can return to their previous school.
Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrissolari. Read more on the Michigan State Spartans and sign up for our Spartans newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State football RB Elijah Collins enters NCAA transfer portal
