Jonathan Smith continued Michigan State football’s mining of the portal with a pair of Football Championship Subdivision additions.
The Spartans picked up pledges Tuesday from former Sacramento State running back Elijah Tau-Tolliver and ex-Western Carolina offensive lineman Caleb Carter, both of whom have one year of eligibility remaining.
Tau-Tolliver arrives at MSU after four seasons with the Hornets. The 6-foot-1, 204-pound native of Sparks, Nevada, ran for 1,538 yards on 275 carries with 14 touchdowns over 41 games at the FCS level.
He posted 950 yards on 184 attempts with seven TDs in 11 games this fall, adding 317 receiving yards and two more scores on 38 catches to earn an All-Big Sky Conference honorable mention.
The addition of Tau-Tolliver helps MSU offset the departures of its two leading rushers. Kay’Ron Lynch-Adams, who transferred from Massachusetts for his final year of eligibility before last season, combined with starter Nate Carter for 1,148 yards on 249 carries and seven TDs. Carter opted to forego his final year of eligibility to declare for the NFL draft earlier this month.
The Spartans’ 115.3 yards per game this fall ranked 110th out of 133 FBS teams. They return two freshmen who each played in eight games this fall, though Makhi Frazier and Brandon Tullis combined for just 14 carries and 41 yards while mainly participating on special teams. MSU also brings in two early-enrolled freshmen in January with the arrival of three-star signees Jace Clarizio and Zion Gist.
That paltry rushing total also required some retooling of an offensive line that struggled because of a lack of depth from in-season injuries and outbound transfers after Smith took over the program last year. MSU used essentially five linemen for the bulk of the fall and loses three of them to expiring eligibility (center Tanner Miller, left guard Luke Newman and right guard/left tackle Brandon Baldwin).
Carter arrives as the second offensive lineman from the portal. The 6-3, 310-pound native of Jacksonville, North Carolina, played 11 games for the Catamounts this season and 34 games in his four seasons at Western Carolina, seeing action at all five line positions. He suffered a season-ending injury in 2023 that limited him to two games and allowed him to redshirt.
Tau-Tolliver and Carter are the Spartans’ fifth and sixth additions from the portal, joining offensive lineman Luka Vincic (Oregon State), cornerback Joshua Eaton (Texas State) and receivers Chrishon McCray (Kent State) and Omari Kelly (Middle Tennessee State).
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