MSU Football OC Jay Johnson expects Connor Heyward to stay at running back

Despite some offseason speculation, new Michigan State OC Jay Johnson anticipates that Connor Heyward will remain at running back.

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Michigan State Football has a new offensive coordinator in town, and despite the directive to stay at home, Jay Johnson did a teleconference for the media on Wednesday to answer questions about the Spartans offense. One interesting takeaway from the session was related to MSU running back Connor Heyward. Johnson was asked on the call if Heyward would be staying at the running back position, to which Johnson replied that he intends on Heyward staying in the backfield.

Chris Solari of the Detroit Free Press was on the call:

“Right now my intent is Connor to be a running back unless it would tell me different at a later date,” Johnson said. “But certainly going into this, we’re glad that he’s back and I anticipate him being a running back.”

Heyward, who only played four games last year before entering the transfer portal, has flashed potential in the passing game, and at 233 pounds even had fans wondering if he could potentially slide into a role at tight end.

Johnson’s opinion may change once he’s actually able to interact with Heyward and the Spartans in person, but as of right now it looks like Heyward could be in line for a big role in the backfield next season.

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