LOOK: Insane stat from Kenneth Walker’s monster week one performance

Look at this insane stat about Kenneth Walker’s week one performance

Michigan State opened the fall of 2021 with a huge conference win, on the road against Northwestern, 38-21. The Spartans win was lead by a monster performance by Kenneth Walker.

Walker ran the ball 23 times for 264 yards and four touchdowns. A truly dominant performance by Walker led the Spartans to a win in their opener against the Wildcats.

The most insane part of Walker’s week one performance, 206 of Walker’s 264 yards came after contact.

The Wake Forest transfer may be the next great running back in MSU history, and it is just beginning.

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Kenneth Walker III posts record breaking performance in Michigan State debut

It’s safe to say Kenneth Walker III had a pretty good Michigan State debut on Friday night

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Numerous Spartans made their Michigan State debut on Friday night but none were bigger than running back Kenneth Walker III.

Walker — who transferred to Michigan State from Wake Forest in the offseason — had a monster season-opener on Friday to lead the Spartans to a 38-21 victory over Northwestern. Walker recorded 264 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 23 carries, and was by far the best player on the field.

Walker’s incredible performance on Friday night was a recording-setting debut, with Walker racking up the most rushing yards in a season-opener in school history. Walker was also the first Big Ten running back to record 250-plus rushing yards and four touchdowns since former Wisconsin running back Melvin Gordon did so in 2014.

Here are some other notable stat nuggets from Walker’s debut:

Don’t expect Walker to have this kind of game every week, but it’s safe to say the Spartans have a great running back on their roster this season.

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Michigan State football routes Northwestern in statement win

Michigan State football routes Northwestern in statement win

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I think that transfer portal initiative worked out after all. On Friday, the Spartans came up with a statement win to open the season on the road against the Northwestern Wildcats. The Spartans beat Northwestern 38-21 in Evanston.

This was the evening of Kenneth Walker, MSU’s new transfer running back from Wake Forest. Walker dominated Northwestern and looked like the best player on the field all night, rushing for 264 yards and four touchdowns on the night in a star performance.

Payton Thorne started ahead of Anthony Russo, which was the other big story of the night. He went 16/27 and threw for 211 yards and a touchdown.

The Spartans came out with a statement win against a formidable opponent in Northwestern and showed that a new look team, stocked full of strong transfers, might be able to compete in the higher echelon of the Big Ten.

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WATCH: MSU RB Kenneth Walker rips off 75-yard TD run on first play of game

Michigan State starts off the season with a bang!

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It only took one play for the Spartans to find the scoreboard on Friday night.

Michigan State started off their season-opening match-up against Northwestern with a 75-yard touchdown run from new running back Kenneth Walker. It was Walker’s first carry as a Spartan after transferring to Michigan State from Wake Forest in the offseason.

The touchdown run gave the Spartans an early 7-0 lead over the Wildcats.

Check out the play below:

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Michigan State football RB Kenneth Walker III makes Doak Walker Award watch list

Michigan State football RB Kenneth Walker III makes Doak Walker Award watch list

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It’s officially watch list season! One of the telltale signs that football is fast approaching is the start of watch list season for the different annual awards in college football. On Wednesday, the Doak Walker Award watch list was revealed, and new Michigan State football running back Kenneth Walker III made the 82-player list.

The Doak Walker Award is given to the top running back in college football.

Walker is the first Spartan to be named to a watch list this summer, which is fitting considering how high the team seems to be on their new transfer.

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LOOK: New MSU RB Kenneth Walker working out with Payton Thorne and Jayden Reed in Illinois

New MSU RB Kenneth Walker working out with Payton Thorne and Jayden Reed in Illinois

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It is well known amongst the Michigan State football fanbase now that Jayden Reed used to live with Payton Thorne at the Thorne family residence in Naperville, Illinois. Now, another Spartan transfer is spending time down with the Thorne family as Kenneth Walker III was seen on Instagram training with both Thorne and Reed in Naperville.

Take a look below:

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Three Spartans listed in 247Sports’ Top 100 transfers rankings

Three new Spartans are ranked amongst the top 100 transfers in the country, according to 247Sports.

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Three new Spartans are ranked amongst the top 100 transfers in the country, according to 247Sports.

Clint Brewster of 247Sports outlined his top 100 transfers from this offseason, and three incoming transfers for Michigan State cracked his list. Those three Spartans are:

  • No. 79 – RB Kenneth Walker III (from Wake Forest)
  • No. 82 – LB Quavaris Crouch (from Tennessee)
  • No. 98 – LB Itayvion Brown (from Minnesota)

On the flip side of that, none of the many Spartans that have left the program through the transfer portal made this list. So that would suggest Michigan State has experienced quite some success in adding talented players via the portal while not losing any true key contributors.

I personally believe Walker and Crouch could be higher on this list based on the type of production they had at their previous schools. But it’s still impressive and nice to see these three guys recognized amongst the top 100 transfers in the country.

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Michigan State football transfers on why they chose MSU

Michigan State’s social media team dove into the lives of three MSU transfer athletes and why they chose to come to Michigan State.

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Spring football is in the air, and the Michigan State Spartans are gearing up for their annual spring football game this Saturday at Spartan Stadium.

MSU’s social media team has been stellar all spring long, giving the fans a great look inside the program, and today was no exception.

The MSU social media team went behind the scenes with three of Michigan State’s new transfer students: QB Anthony Russo, RB Kenneth Walker and DE Drew Jordan on why they chose to come to Michigan State.

This video was really well done and will make Spartan fans excited to watch these three players come fall.

The video can be found on Michigan State football’s Twitter page here:

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LOOK: Kenneth Walker shows off his new Michigan State football uniform

Kenneth Walker transferred from Wake Forest to Michigan State and is someone that Spartan fans are excited about. Look at him in his uniform

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Michigan State has been very active in the transfer portal since the conclusion of the 2020 football season. One of the new additions to the Spartans program is running back Kenneth Walker from Wake Forest.

Walker is a huge addition to a rebuilding program and will be a key piece to the offense moving forward. He is currently the perceived leader in the battle for the starting running back position as we head into spring.

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Pro football focus ranked Walker in the top 5 returning running backs for the 2021 football season, bringing high praise to the new Spartan running back. Take a first look at how Walker looks in his new MSU uniform:

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MSU Football lands another transfer, RB Kenneth Walker from Wake Forest

MSU Football has landed another transfer from the NCAA transfer portal in running back Kenneth Walker from Wake Forrest.

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Michigan State has made another move in the NCAA transfer portal this afternoon, landing running back transfer Kenneth Walker from Wake Forest. Walker will be the fifth incoming transfer to the Spartans program (you can check all of Michigan State’s transfer movement here).

Kenneth Walker had entered the transfer portal at the beginning of this week and the Spartans acted quickly, as did Walker, with a commitment coming two days after entering the portal.

Walker has spent the last two seasons playing a key role in the Demon Deacons backfield, totalling 1158 yards on 217 carries and finding the endzone 17 times. Walker is more of a bruising power back that enjoys running in between the tackles. In two seasons Walker has only caught 6 passes, not being very involved in the passing game.

MSU Football Transfer Tracker: Every incoming and outgoing transfer

Out of high school, Walker was a low ranked 3-star out of Arlington, Tennessee, but quickly showed that he was vastly underrated while finding playing time as a true freshman. He will come to East Lansing as a sophomore, with three years of eligibility left.

Mel Tucker will continue to shape this roster into what he deems fit and will actively pursue more talent in the coming months before the start of the 2021 season.

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