EAST LANSING – Elijah Collins took the handoff and found an opening around the left side of the line.
The end zone was in sight for the Michigan State running back but Maryland’s Dante Trader Jr. had an angle on the tackle. So, Collins cut back inside and past Trader, then split another pair of defenders and crossed the goal line for a 12-yard touchdown run.
“It felt really good,” Collins said. “Just to be back out there helping my team doing whatever we can to get the job done.”
It was an impressive run for Collins in last week’s 27-13 loss at Maryland. It was also reminiscent of what he showed in a breakout redshirt freshman season. That was three years ago and feels even longer.
Since a standout 2019 season, Collins had a setback with COVID-19 in 2020 and a leg injury that limited him to eight games last year. Coach Mel Tucker also brought in four running back transfers over the last two seasons.
During a time in which players flock to the portal because they aren’t happy with their role, Collins stuck it out at Michigan State.
“For me, transferring wasn’t really something I thought about,” the fifth-year senior said. “I had a great opportunity here. Coach Tucker was allowing me to stay here and play ball. Why would I transfer? I didn’t feel like I was excluded or I was ever out of the race. I always felt like I had a chance and a shot and he always gave me that shot. I’ve been doing everything that I can to maximize that.”
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Collins was a bright spot on a gloomy Saturday in College Park as the Spartans (2-3, 0-2 Big Ten) dropped their third straight game. He had five carries for a team-high 36 yards and their lone rushing score of the game.
“The production that you see in the game from him, that’s what we see in practice,” Tucker said. “It’s been consistent and he’s been improving. He’s earned the opportunities to go in the game and when he’s gone in the game, he’s done well. He has a really good attitude, he works really hard, he’s a great teammate and he does an excellent job on special teams so he’s very unselfish and he’s hungry. I think that’s why he’s been productive in the role that he’s had so far.”
The role Collins had last week as the second running back in the game for the Spartans was a surprise. Entering the season, he appeared to be third on the depth chart at best but has made the most of limited opportunities with 14 carries for 94 yards and three touchdowns in what could be an emerging role.
“I love seeing it because we’ve all seen him perform at the highest level,” wide receiver Jayden Reed said of Collins. “We all know that he is a great ballplayer. All it takes is opportunity.”
Collins’ first real shot came in 2019 as a redshirt freshman who was behind starter Connor Heyward on the depth chart. That changed quickly when Collins rushed for 192 yards on 17 carries in a Week 2 win against Western Michigan. He took over the starting role and finished the season with 988 yards and five touchdowns.
After coach Mark Dantonio retired and Tucker took over the program, amid all the chaos of the pandemic, one of few things that appeared certain going into the 2020 season was Collins would be the team’s top running back. But he struggled physically after a battle with COVID-19, looked nothing like himself and finished the shortened season with only 41 carries for 90 yards.
During fall camp last year, Collins said he felt like his old self and was ready to prove it. One problem: Kenneth Walker III. The Wake Forest transfer became a star while rushing for 1,636 yards and 18 touchdowns and winning the Doak Walker Award as the nation’s top running back before leaving for the NFL. Despite having a diminished role, Collins was highly supportive of the Walter Camp Player of the Year.
“It was crazy to watch,” Collins said of Walker. “To be right next to him and see him do all of that, I can’t be nothing but happy for the dude.”
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Collins also had another setback last year. He looked impressive on a series against Youngstown State in the second game of the season but suffered a leg injury while crossing the goal line on a 20-yard touchdown catch. That sidelined him for five games and he finished the season with only 18 carries for 102 yards.
With Walker off to the NFL, Tucker added a pair of transfer running backs in the offseason for the second straight year. Wisconsin’s Jalen Berger joined the program in January and Colorado’s Jarek Broussard arrived in May.
Despite the room becoming crowded again with additional competition, Collins didn’t go shopping for a new school. He cited hard-working examples set by his parents providing for a large family for his decision to remain in East Lansing.
“Each and every day, I see them wake up and go to work,” Collins said. “That’s kind of how I look at myself. If anything, just wake up and go to work and do the work.”
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Collins also believes in Tucker. Although the Spartans are off to a rocky start after an 11-win season last year, the running back wanted to stick with a coach who didn’t even recruit him to East Lansing.
“Coach Tucker has done a lot of good things for this program,” Collins said. “He’s been building this program up brick by brick. It’s going to take some time, it’s a process, it’s not going to happen just overnight. I saw what he was doing, I knew he had a good plan and I wanted to be a part of that. I was doing anything to be a part of that.”
Berger and Broussard were Michigan State’s clear top two running backs through the first two games and the outlook was good with the team averaging 228.5 yards per game on the ground. The Spartans haven’t been effective since while averaging just 60 rushing yards per game during the three-game skid.
With Berger and Broussard combining to average only 2.9 yards per carry over the last three games, Collins got more of a look. He had a 1-yard touchdown run in a loss at Washington on his lone carry but zero rushes the following week against Minnesota. Collins averaged 7.2 yards per carry against Maryland but had only two touches in the second half as the offense sputtered while being shut out over the final 60 minutes.
Michigan State needs more production from its running game, especially if it is going to snap a losing streak. And the Spartans are heading into their toughest game of the season so far when they host No. 3 Ohio State on Saturday.
“He practiced well and his attitude and want to and everything has been really good,” offensive line coach and run game coordinator Chris Kapilovic said of Collins. “(Running backs) Coach (Effrem) Reed has been talking about we need to get him in more and he got in there and I thought he ran really well. Ran hard, got extra yards, fought for extra yards, made some people miss, broke some tackles. In my opinion, if he keeps practicing like that, playing like that, he’s got to get more carries.”
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Collins, who also plays a role on special teams and had two tackles last week, said he’s more mature and has a better understanding of the game than during the 2019 season. He feels he’s a more complete running back now than at that time.
“Definitely because not only have I sharpened my tools on the field but also off the field,” Collins said. “That’s probably one of the biggest things, being able to really slow the game down and mentally prepare and know what you’re doing out there versus being a freshman and just being out there. Literally, that’s how it felt sometimes. You know the game and you know the plays you have to run but things are moving so fast and you’d kind of just be out there.”
Maybe this is start of a rebirth for Collins or it could be just a temporary bump in playing time. Either way, in a season that hasn’t gone anywhere close to expected for the Spartans, a player who remained loyal to his program is an example of perseverance.
“I appreciate everybody in Spartan nation who has always been standing with me,” Collins said, “because I’ve done nothing but stand with them. I do feel that love.”
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