Short-yardage / goal-line · enumeration
Who gets the tough yard
5/17Inside-5 share
5 of the team's 17 inside-the-5 carries (29.4%).
LJ Scott
Last confirmed: Michigan State, 2018. No 2026 box-score games on record.
6′1″ · 226 lb · Hubbard, OH
LJ Scott: RB · Michigan State · #3.
Players he’s like
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
LJ Scott
Just keeps getting the ball, series after series. He has spent four seasons in the Michigan State backfield. A game that shows it: 84 rushing yards and 57 receiving yards against Utah State — Week 1, 2018.
How he plays
How he plays
Play style
Built to take 20+ carries per game. Volume is the value.
News and fans
No outlet on our list has written about him by name this season.
Michigan State in the news
- $10M donation to MSU athletics
Lansing State Journal Oct 23 - Michigan State fires head coach
Yahoo Sports Oct 21 - Fitzgerald takes responsibility for middle finger
The State News Oct 13
Where to follow him
Career stats
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Michigan State | 79 | 260 | 3.3 | 0 |
| 2017 | Michigan State | 201 | 898 | 4.5 | 8 |
| 2016 | Michigan State | 184 | 994 | 5.4 | 6 |
| 2015 | Michigan State | 146 | 699 | 4.8 | 11 |
| Career | 610 | 2,851 | 4.7 | 25 |
| Season | Team | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Michigan State | 9 | 97 | 10.8 | 0 |
| 2017 | Michigan State | 20 | 146 | 7.3 | 1 |
| 2016 | Michigan State | 10 | 147 | 14.7 | 1 |
| 2015 | Michigan State | 3 | 15 | 5.0 | 0 |
| Career | 42 | 405 | 9.6 | 2 |
Game log
Game log · Week-by-week
2018 season · 5 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 38-31vs Utah State | 23 | 84 | 3.7 | 0 | 14 | |
| Wk 2 | L 13-16@ Arizona State | 7 | 19 | 2.7 | 0 | 7 | |
| Wk 8 | L 7-21vs No. 6 Michigan | 10 | 25 | 2.5 | 0 | 9 | |
| Wk 9 | W 23-13vs Purdue | 15 | 48 | 3.2 | 0 | 9 | |
 Bowl | L 6-7@ Oregon | 24 | 84 | 3.5 | 0 | 14 | |
| Total | 79 | 260 | 3.3 | 0 | 14 |
Signature game
Week 1 · 2018
W 38-31
vs Utah State
84 rush yds (23 car) · 3 rec · 57 yds
Edged out Utah State at home in a shootout.
With B. Lewerke — 287 yds · 2 TD · 1 INT · 31 rush yds (10 car) · D. Stewart Jr. — 7 rec · 55 yds · 15 rush yds (1 car)
Signature plays
The plays that mattered most
- Week 8 · Michigan · 1st and 10 · Q3 · EPA −3.27LJ Scott run for no gain to the 50 yard line MICHIGAN ST Penalty, Personal Foul (-15 Yards) to the MchSt 35
- Week 1 · Utah State · 2nd and 10 · Q1 · EPA +2.19Brian Lewerke pass complete to LJ Scott for 20 yds to the MchSt 40 for a
- Week 8 · Michigan · 2nd and 9 · Q1 · EPA +1.71Brian Lewerke pass complete to LJ Scott for 15 yds to the MchSt 36 for a
- Week 1 · Oregon · 3rd and 2 · Q4 · EPA +1.37LJ Scott run for 3 yds to the MchSt 46 for a
- Week 9 · Purdue · 1st and 10 · Q3 · EPA +1.37LJ Scott run for 9 yds to the MchSt 47
- Week 1 · Utah State · 3rd and 1 · Q2 · EPA +1.26LJ Scott run for 4 yds to the 50 yard line for a
4 more plays
- Week 1 · Oregon · 2nd and 9 · Q3 · EPA −1.26LJ Scott run for a loss of 1 yard to the 50 yard line
- Week 1 · Oregon · 2nd and 6 · Q1 · EPA +1.22LJ Scott run for 7 yds to the MchSt 45 for a
- Week 1 · Oregon · 1st and 10 · Q4 · EPA −1.16LJ Scott run for no gain to the MchSt 46
- Week 1 · Oregon · 2nd and 8 · Q3 · EPA +1.12LJ Scott run for 14 yds to the Oregn 27 for a
Rushing profile
Rush profile · Shape, efficiency, and ball security
How he gets his yards, and how often it works
79 of 79 carries matched to play-by-play
Success rate
31%55 carriesStuffed
0 or fewer yds11%of carries
9 carries
Grind
1–3 yds51%of carries
40 carries
Chunk
4–9 yds34%of carries
27 carries
Explosive
10+ yds4%of carries
3 carries
4 of 4 (100%) converted on 3rd/4th & short (≤2 to go) · 0 of 5 (0%) scored from inside the 5-yard line
3.3 yds/carry on 79 carries · 4% explosive (10+ yds) · 31% success rate.
Teams and coaches
4 seasons under Mark Dantonio — 32-20 over that span.
2015Michigan State12-2HC: Mark Dantonio · Run-leaning
2016Michigan State3-9HC: Mark Dantonio · Run-leaning
2017Michigan State10-3HC: Mark Dantonio · Run-leaning
2018Michigan State7-6HC: Mark Dantonio · Balanced
Our ratings
Splits
Home and road splits, scheme and staff
Splits · Per-game
2018 season · 5 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home3g | 52.3 | 3.1 | 0.0 |
| Road1g | 19.0 | 2.7 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-73g | 62.3 | 3.3 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+2g | 36.5 | 2.9 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Mark Dantonio
Pass share
52.2%
489 pass / 447 run
Plays / game
72.0
13 games
Team sack rate
4.9%
534 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Awards
Player standing · 2018
79 carries and 9 catches in 5 games
More touches a game than most FBS running backs who play every week.
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Four seasons at Michigan State
- 2018 Michigan State DantonioYear 4 · 5 games
- 2017 Michigan State DantonioYear 3 · 12 games
- 2016 Michigan State DantonioYear 2 · 12 games
- 2015 Michigan State DantonioYear 1 · 14 games
- Before collegeSigned with Michigan State in 2015 as a 4-star recruit, No. 60 in the country.
His moves
- Signed with Michigan State in the 2015 class, a 4-star recruit.
How it ended
Four seasons at Michigan State, 2,851 rushing yards — his college career is complete.
His career
He has a stat line in 43 games over 4 seasons.
The week the volume broke through — put up 194 yds at Minnesota.Minnesota · W 30-272017
2015 14 games
- Signed with Michigan State4-star out of Hubbard
Coaching lineage · 2015–2018
1 coach2015–2018
Michigan State
Played his entire career under Mark Dantonio.