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Mississippi State Spring Football Game 2017: 5 things to watch for

By Nicholas Ian Allen

Nov 26, 2016; Oxford, MS, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs players celebrate with the Egg Bowl trophy after the game against the Mississippi Rebels at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mississippi State won 55-20 Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 26, 2016; Oxford, MS, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs players celebrate with the Egg Bowl trophy after the game against the Mississippi Rebels at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mississippi State won 55-20 Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports /
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Nov 26, 2016; Oxford, MS, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs running back Aeris Williams (27) carries the ball during the second quarter of the game against the Mississippi Rebels at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 26, 2016; Oxford, MS, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs running back Aeris Williams (27) carries the ball during the second quarter of the game against the Mississippi Rebels at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports /

Improvement at running back

As good as Fitzgerald was, especially running the football, Mississippi State can’t rely on its quarterback to carry the load in the running game. For the Bulldogs to take the next step towards competing for a division title, MSU finds ways to take pressure off Fitzgerald and keep him healthy. Simply put, Mississippi State needs more from its running backs in 2017.

Aeris Williams was the second leading rusher for the Bulldogs last season. Williams gained 720 yards on 137 carries (5.3 yards per carry) and scored four touchdowns. But Williams averaged 10.5 carries per game last season while Fitzgerald toted the football an average of 15 times per contest. No other player on the roster averaged more than 5.6 carries on average.

A rising junior, the 6-foot-1, 217-pound Williams is a safe bet to continue on his path to becoming the go-to ball carrier for the Bulldogs in 2017. Williams’ role increased over the course of last season, and the more action he saw, the better he got.

After earning just 19 carries over the course of the first five games, Williams averaged 17.4 carries per game down the stretch. He had 20 or more rushing attempts three times and gained an average of 137.7 rushing yards in those three games, including a career-high 191 yards and two touchdowns against Ole Miss.

Depth behind Williams is an issue, so even if he takes some of the heat off of Fitzgerald, Williams will need someone else to step up to give him a breather on occasion. Ashton Shumpert and Brandon Holloway are out of eligibility, and the only two players to run for more than 100 yards last season (Malik Dear and Keith Dixon) are receivers. Dontavian Lee, Nick Gibson and Alec Murphy are the other running backs listed on the roster, and highly touted signee Kylin Hill will join the squad this summer.

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