Michigan State football suffered a massive blow to its offensive firepower when it was announced that Cam Edwards was going to miss the remainder of the season. Now, the Spartans are going to be forced to find a new answer at running back for the remainder of the season.
Luckily for the Spartans, they made more than enough preparations in the transfer portal to absorb this loss. Aside from Edwards, the Spartans added Iowa transfer Jaziun Patterson and Western Kentucky transfer Marvis Parrish into the fold, while also retaining Brandon Tullis on the roster.
On Saturday against Nebraska, it was Patterson who made his presence known and showed why he is the answer at starting running back. A 4-year player at Iowa, Patterson rushed for 858 yards on 195
carries, gaining 4.4 yards per carry. So far this season, he has ran the ball 26 times for 100 yards.
Aside from being a strong runner in between the tackles, having a ton of Big Ten experience, Patterson is well versed in pass blocking, and his veteran presence can make him a bell-cow for the Spartans and lessen the blow this season.
This would also allow Parrish, a true sophomore, to continue developing in his complimentary role in the backfield and not overwork him while he still needs to develop. That leaves Tullis, who has rushed for 360 yards on 4.4 yards per carry, to gain a spell role as the third back.
Losing Edwards is tough, and can be a blow to the Spartans, but Patterson has built his last four years of college to be ready for this role, and Spartan fans are going to see that he is able to step up into a full-time starter in the Big Ten.
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This article originally appeared on Spartans Wire: What's next for Michigan State after losing Cam Edwards to injury
