Connor

Heyward

Heyward (6'0/230) is the brother of Pittsburgh Steeler’s defensive lineman Cameron Heyward, but the and received some attention from folks at the NFL level during last week’s Senior Bowl. Perhaps the most notable praise he received was from Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell, who said that Heyward was more than a fullback as reported by Jeremy Reisman of PrideOfDetroit.com. Campbell isn’t wrong, as Heyward, a fifth year senior at Michigan State, finished his career with a rushing line of 212-834-5 and a receiving line of 95-709-2 on 110 targets with just two career drops per Pro Football Focus. Fullbacks are a fading position in the NFLK but Heyward looks like a lock to get drafted this year with his versatile skillsets and NFL bloodlines.

After rushing for a total of 83 yards in Michigan State’s first four games, Heyward (6'0/230) had his best game of the season Saturday afternoon. In a workman-like performance he averaged a solid 4.0 yards per carry, while also catching four passes for another nine years. The 103 yards of offense more than doubled the redshirt junior’s single-game high for this season (43). But for as well as Heyward played against Northwester, Michigan State will need even more production from him next week against Ohio State.

Heyward (6'0/233) wasn’t able to get much done on the ground, as he averaged just 2.2 yards per carry on the afternoon. But the redshirt junior made the most of his opportunities in the passing game, as he managed to reach the end zone on both of his receptions. Jordon Simmons had a slightly better day running the ball for the Spartans, as he accounted for 55 yards on 14 carries (28 were gained on one play). Heyward and the Spartans return to action next weekend when they face Iowa.

Nearly seven months after it was reported that Heyward (6'0/233) would possibly switch positions, he made the start at running back in Michigan State’s season opener. The redshirt junior, who also considered leaving Michigan State before Mark Dantonio retired as head coach, beat out Elijah Collins for the starting job. Collins was the more productive of the two in 2019 but Heyward isn’t chopped liver either, as he led the Spartans in rushing yards the season prior.

Heyward (6'0/233) intended to leave Michigan State before HC Mark Dantonio retired and Mel Tucker was hired in his place. Between Heyward’s stint in the portal and insertion of a new coaching staff, there was some thought that Heyward could switch positions since he was listed as an ATH coming out of high school, but that does not appear to be the case. “Connor to be a running back unless it would tell me different at a later date,” says Johnson, which sounds like a strong commitment to keeping Heyward in the Spartan backfield.

Heyward (6'0/233) led Sparty in 2018 by rushing for 529 yards and five TD on 118 carries in 2018, good for 4.5 YPC. He and the former staff led by ex-HC Mark Dantonio seemed to have a falling out last fall, as Heyward entered the transfer portal in September having appeared in only four games. New Spartans HC Mel Tucker was not only able to talk Heyward into returning -- Heyward specifically mentioned talking to Tucker in his announcement -- but Tucker will enjoy Heyward’s services for an extra year because the upshot of Heyward’s truncated 2019 season was that it could be used as his redshirt campaign, since he appeared in less than five games.

It’s been a curious year with regards to Heyward’s playing time, all of which came to a head when he chose to sit out last week’s game for personal reasons. Now a couple days later, those personal reasons seem to have been able to preserve his right to redshirt. Playing in last Saturday’s game would have been his fifth appearance of the year, which would have made him ineligible to redshirt. He is still eligible to redshirt because he did not play. Heyward (6'0"/233) saw just 24 carries for 79 yards in 2019 and had been relieved of being the primary kick returner, a role he held the past two seasons. Expect updates on Heyward’s status in the coming weeks.

Heyward (6'0/233) appeared in each of Michigan State’s first four games but was not all that productive, as he rushed for a total of 79 yards on 24 carries. Given the NCAA’s rule on redshirting, there are bound to be questions regarding the junior running back’s future in East Lansing. Elijah Collins, who took over the starting job a couple weeks ago, finished Saturday’s 40-31 victory with 56 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries.

Heyward (6'0/233) opened the season starting, but failed to take advantage of his early opportunities, rushing for just 56 yards (3.1 YPC) on 18 carries across the first two games of the campaign. MSU will give Elijah Collins a starting whirl against Arizona State this weekend.

Heyward’s score came on a checkdown pass from Brian Lewerke where Heyward did most of the work and scampered in from 15 yards out. While he did make some plays as a receiver, there wasn’t much room to be found in the running game, as he had a long gain of seven and failed to reach the second level on virtually all of his attempts. Heyward should remain the bellcow, but against better opponents, the MSU offense is going to have to be significantly better. He should find more creases against Western Michigan next Saturday.