In his freshman season in 2019, Michigan State football running back Elijah Collins looked like the Spartans’ rusher of the future, recording 988 yards on the ground and scoring 5 touchdowns and looking like one of the few bright spots on a struggling team.
However, in 2020, that production fell off a cliff and Collins only recorded 90 yards and didn’t score a touchdown as he was almost fully replaced in the rotation by Jordon Simmons and Connor Heyward. Now, we have finally learned more about what happened.
On Tuesday, Collins revealed that he missed a lot of time in the offseason, both because of forced quarantine after being exposed to COVID-19, and after contracting the illness himself. He also noted that, after contracting the coronavirus himself, he lost weight and had lingering symptoms that hampered his prep for the season:
MSU RB Elijah Collins said he had COVID “and it took a deep effect.” Says he lost weight and had symptoms that lasted a few weeks.
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) April 20, 2021
It seems like every MSU coach who gets a microphone this offseason has praised Collins and how he looks right now. If last year’s downturn was caused by medical reasons, the Spartans might have one of the best rushers in the Big Ten returning to form.
