Michigan State football: Elijah Collins will always be a Spartan Dawg

Elijah Collins has officially entered the transfer portal, leaving a lasting legacy with Michigan State football.

After a forgettable Michigan State football game against Indiana, which was the worst loss in the Mel Tucker era, it is understandable to want to forget everything that happened. That football game pointed out many issues that need to be fixed but it also showed that the 2022 team had some Spartan Dawgs and Elijah Collins was one of them.

On Wednesday, the veteran running back decided to hit the transfer portal, but he’ll forever be considered a Spartan Dawg for what he did for the MSU football program.

When you think of the term “Spartan Dawg” you may think of the hardest-working players or some of the best players to ever see the field at Michigan State. Some of the names that you might think of are Kirk Cousins, Connor Cook, Kenneth Walker III, and maybe even Xavier Henderson. These are just a few of the many amazing football players that Michigan State has had but this article is about one of them: Elijah Collins.

If you look at all the players this article has named, Collins is the most likely player that will be forgotten years down the road but he should not be forgotten. In order to understand why he should not be, Elijah’s whole journey will have to be looked at.

Elijah first stepped on the scene at Michigan State in 2019. That year, Michigan State was looking for a running back as LJ Scott was no longer on the team. For those who remember the 2019 season, it was a frustrating season that ended with a win over Wake Forest in the Pinstripe Bowl. Collins made going to a bowl possible with his ability to find the open hole and make plays all over the field. In that season, he ran for just under 1,000 yards and five touchdowns. While Elijah did not score much that season, it looked like Michigan State might have found its future running back.

Next was the season that no one ever saw happening, the COVID-19 season. There were many things that were canceled or affected because of Covid. Michigan State fans will especially never forget COVID-19 because it took Cassius Winston’s last chance to win a national championship away. Would Cassius and the basketball team have won the national title? That question will never be answered but it also affected the football team and Collins.

Another big impact on Elijah and the football team was Mark Dantonio’s sudden retirement and the hiring of Mel Tucker. This not only impacted the team but it especially impacted Collins. After a great 2019 season, Elijah only ran for 90 yards that season and zero touchdowns. While this was the season no one wanted, 2021 was just around the corner.

The 2020 season ended with no bowl game and just a few weeks after the season, it was announced that Walker was transferring from Wake Forest to Michigan State. The excitement for K9 to come to Michigan State was felt but it meant that Elijah’s season again was going to be impacted. No Michigan State fan would have expected the season that Walker had, but when you have a transfer coming in at the position you play, it does impact things. It led to Elijah rushing for 102 yards last year. With Walker going to the draft, was 2022 the year in which Elijah could be the RB1 again?

Like in 2019, Michigan State again had a question mark at the running back position without Walker. Would this be like 2019 when Elijah took over the team at the running back position? The answer seemed like it would be transfer running back, Jalen Berger. While Berger was the starting running back all year, Elijah had a very solid season which included a performance against Indiana, where he ran for 107 yards and two touchdowns on senior day. This was the type of performance that Elijah was having consistently back in 2019.

This type of performance was the reason why Elijah is a Spartan Dawg.

Having one game where a running back runs for over 100 yards does not make you someone that should be remembered. The reason why this situation is different is because of what the Indiana game meant especially when you put Elijah’s whole career in picture.

In a world where many players leave when they do not get a chance, Elijah never did. After the transfer portal started, no one would have blamed Elijah if he transferred but again, he didn’t. Michigan State fans know that Elijah Collins is a good running back that just never got a chance. The reason why Elijah Collins is that “Spartan Dawg” is because he stuck with the team and because of that he finally got the game he very much deserved on senior day. 

This decision to finally transfer is expected and celebrated by Michigan State football fans because Elijah deserves that shot and I can bet Tucker wanted this for him.