Nathan Carter will be Michigan State football’s next 1,000-yard rusher in 2024

A year ago, it looked like Nate Carter would easily break the 1,000-yard mark, becoming the Michigan State football team’s first 1,000-yard runner since Kenneth Walker III in 2021.

Carter had three 100-yard games in his first five games as a Spartan and also had a fourth game where he fell just three yards short of 100. He basically ran for about 100 yards in every game for the first month, but then October came and the offense collapsed.

The offensive line deteriorated, the quarterback’s play was shaky as ever, and the Spartans seemed unable to score. They averaged just 12 points per game in October, and Carter managed just 134 yards and no touchdowns in three games. And it wasn’t his fault.

Things didn’t get any better in November, as Michigan State averaged just 11 points per game and he managed just 189 yards and no touchdowns in four games. He hadn’t scored a touchdown in over two months and the last time he averaged over 5.0 yards per attempt in a game was in September. But that wasn’t all his fault, either.

Now that Jim Michalczik is leading the offensive line and Kay’Ron Lynch-Adams is in the backfield behind Carter, there’s a good chance we’ll see an improvement in the running game.

And not only is that a slight improvement, but he could become one of the best running backs in the Big Ten and Michigan State’s next 1,000-yard rusher. With a solid backup and one of the most improved lines in the Big Ten this season, the pressure will be off him. He will show why everyone was so excited about him being K9 lite.

While he may not win the Doak Walker Award like Walker did, I am confident Carter will live up to his potential and put up some great numbers in 2024.