EAST LANSING – Jaziun Patterson transferred to Michigan State football from Iowa, looking for an opportunity to run the ball.
He’s got it now, albeit not how he expected. Along with picking up some driving duties to help the teammate he’s replacing.
One of four running backs coach Pat Fitzgerald and his staff added via the portal in the offseason, Patterson is expected to split carries with sophomore Marvis Parrish now that Connecticut transfer Cam Edwards is done for the season with an apparent knee injury.
“The confidence comes from my preparation,” Patterson said after practice Tuesday, Sept. 29. “I’ve always been a guy to be the next man up, so I’ve always had that next-man-up mentality. I knew at some point of the season, we were gonna have
to lean on everybody and all the guys. So I just wanted to be prepared and be ready for when that time came.”
Patterson and the Spartans (2-2, 0-1 Big Ten) begin their journey without Edwards on Saturday at surging Wisconsin (3-1, 1-0). Kickoff is 12:30 p.m. at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison.
Edwards led MSU with 304 yards and three touchdowns on 64 carries in his four games, adding four catches for another 35 receiving yards. He caught a screen pass from quarterback Alessio Milivojevic for 13 yards but got toppled and flipped on the tackle, grabbing his right knee instantly as he crashed to the Spartan Stadium turf just 5:19 into the Spartans’ eventual 31-13 loss to Nebraska on Saturday.
When Edwards returned to the sideline on crutches in the second half, MSU had turned to fifth-year senior Patterson to handle the bulk of the load. The 5-foot-10, 214-pound native of Pompano Beach, Florida, finished with 54 yards on 16 carries, including a 2-yard touchdown on a direct snap that was similar to what Edwards had done earlier in the season.
“We felt bad, obviously, because that’s our boy,” Patterson said Tuesday. “We don’t ever want to see nobody in our room go down, and we feel for Cam and our prayers are with Cam. I’m gonna check up on him after this interview to see how he’s doing.
“We just try to be his support system with anything he needs.”
That’s when Patterson revealed another new role: chauffer for Edwards.
“I’m gonna be one of the guys that’ll be giving him rides,” Patterson said with a chuckle.
In 34 games over four seasons at Iowa, Patterson got 195 carries for 858 yards and four touchdowns, adding nine receptions for 35 more yards. So far this season, he has 100 yards on 26 carries and tied his career high with two TDs. Patterson never got more than the 63 carries and 309 yards he ran for in 2024, nor has he played more than the 153 offensive snaps he got in 2023.
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According to Pro Football Focus College, Patterson got 31 snaps against the Huskers on Saturday to 25 for Parrish, who served as the No. 2 running back behind Edwards through three games.
“Jaz has played before, certainly in our league,” MSU offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan said Tuesday. “The physicality I don’t think is new to him, and it’s something he embraces, which is important at the running back position. And so it was no surprise how hard he ran in the game.”
Parrish, who arrived after one season at Western Kentucky, had three carries for 6 yards against the Cornhuskers and now has 53 yards on 18 attempts this season.
Sheridan said “there’s a collection of guys in that room” who will be counted on to help offset the loss of Edwards and “share a little bit bigger workload.”
MSU also added Nebraska transfer Kenneth Williams in the offseason, and he predominantly has been on kickoff return duty this season, though he scored an 8-yard touchdown on an end-around against Eastern Michigan for his only rushing attempt. Junior Brandon Tullis, who stayed through the coaching change, got one carry for 2 yards late against the Cornhuskers and has five carries for 39 yards in his three appearances and a team-leading 7.8 yards per attempt.
Wisconsin's defense, which is led by former MSU defensive coordinator and longtime Mark Dantonio assistant Mike Tressel, ranks 28th in the Football Bowl Subdivision in allowing 275.3 yards per game. The Badgers' 111.5 rushing yards per game is tied for 39th-best nationally.
But the loss of Edwards has MSU’s coaches and players expressing their sadness to see his senior season come to an end prematurely, even though they know eight games remain for the Spartans to get to six wins and a bowl berth.
“That’s the case throughout the course of a season every year in the Big Ten,” Sheridan said. “You know you’re gonna need multiple running backs to contribute in a game. So we have confidence in those guys to do that. … You know how hard these kids work, you want them to have the opportunity to play – and they love to play.
“That’s the worst part of coaching for us, to see a player get hurt. And we all understand the nature of the sport.”
Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: How will Michigan State replace injured star Cam Edwards at RB?
