Brandon Tullis had been looking forward to Monday’s practice, Michigan State’s first day of training camp in full pads. As the biggest member of running backs coach Keith Bhonapha‘s stable, the more physical things get, the more the 6-foot-1, 227-pound Tullis can showcase the full breadth of his talents.
Until the pads came on, Tullis, in a way, was auditioning for a leading role without being given all of his lines.
Monday also marked the end of debates between Tullis and defensive teammates. The majority of practices these days utilize “thud” rules, meaning defensive players can only wrap-up ball-carriers, but nobody is supposed to hit the ground. It’s a safer approach, in theory, but it also creates some grey area as to when exactly forward progress was stopped and who won a given rep.
Unrestricted full contact allows for decisive, physical – maybe even painful – resolution to those disagreements.
“He is hard to tackle,” Bhonapha said of the sophomore from Dallas.
Perhaps, as the second week of training camp continues to unfold, Tullis’ hard-nosed style can be an edge he wields in an ongoing running back battle where separation has proven scarce. That could change quickly after Saturday’s first intrasquad scrimmage, though, with Bhonapha eager to pry open the clog at his position and let a natural pecking order take shape.
“Think about those cars driving four lanes (across on the highway), everybody’s driving next to each other, and you’re behind them and you’re mad because you’re trying to get around,” Bhonapha said Thursday, repeating an analogy he used during spring ball. “We need somebody to press the gas and accelerate and move onto the fast lane. So that’s what fall camp is for and that’s what I’m excited to see.”
Consistency – in running the ball, catching it and blocking in pass protection – will carry one of the contenders to the top of the depth chart, Bhonapha said. That includes a steady focus beyond the practice field, as Bhonapha is effectively working off of a clean slate in his room after losing 83% of MSU’s rushing production with the departures of Nate Carter and Kay’ron Lynch-Adams. The Spartan running backs boast a combined 30 offensive snaps of FBS experience, all belonging to sophomores Tullis and Makhi Frazier.
Youth or inexperience won’t be excused in the search for a couple lead dogs, as Bhonapha reiterated his preference to be a “multi-back system.”
“The standard can’t be, well, I know you’re young and you’ve gotta still figure it out,” Bhonapha said. “No, this is what we need done, and if you can’t get it done right now, let’s get the next guy in to see if he can get it done consistently. And just the understanding of the urgency we have as an offense, the urgency we have as a team, for the Michigan State faithful, Spartan nation, to make sure we need you to go out there and prepare and act like you’re ready to play football at this level.”
While all of the contenders would be new to high-usage roles in the Big Ten, none are newcomers to the program as of this summer. The logjam that exists now dates back to spring practice, but Bhonapha saw enough in those 15 sessions to be convinced he had the proper raw materials to forge a competent rotation and therefore declined to pursue additional reinforcements via the transfer portal.
“And what you don’t want to continue to do, especially in this portal era, is continue to push down your talent and basically skip in line, because you’re not really developing,” he said. “And then you end up into this cycle where you constantly have to go to the portal because now, in today’s day and age, let’s be honest, if a guy feels like, well, I’m always going to get skipped in front of, why would I stay here at Michigan State?
“… There’s two sides to it. And I think seeing what we saw out of spring ball, I felt comfortable that, if we just continue to push these guys, they will take the next step. And I believe that’s where we’re at right now.”
Making up the crowded backfield Bhonapha is looking to pare down is Tullis, Frazier, senior Sacramento State transfer Elijah Tau-Tolliver, freshman Jace Clarizio and freshman Zion Gist.
Tullis has the build to bring the boom on smaller defenders, but it’s actually an element of speed that has him more confident going into his second season. His processing and game speed has cranked up, he said, after a year in the system and dipping his toe in the action with seven carries across eight appearances last year.
“He’s developed into a good-looking running back, but at the same time, he had seven carries last year,” Bhonapha said. “I think his strong suit, if he continues to run behind his pads like he has so far this fall, he has a chance to be special. I think the other thing with him is, you get a big back like that in some of the pass protection stuff and things like that, if he stays dialed in there, he’s gonna be an exciting player.”
Frazier, 5-10, 218 pounds, from McKinney, Texas, has virtually the same resume after playing in nine games, rushing seven times for 21 yards and burning a redshirt last season. Like Tullis, his old Texas youth-league teammate, Frazier mentioned his ability to play quicker and spend less time thinking at the core of his growth as a sophomore. Bhonapha said Frazier has arguably been the most consistent in the aspects of the job MSU prioritizes.
“I think (the competition is) pretty good because, each and every day, you get to learn off of somebody else’s mistakes and then they get to learn off your mistakes,” Frazier said. “It’s really who can be consistent the most and be able to take the next step the most.”
Tau-Tolliver is the most seasoned college player in Bhonapha’s room, but the transition from FCS ball to the highest level of FBS isn’t always as easy as former Sacramento State teammate Cam Skattebo made it look last season while starring for Arizona State. In addition to rushing for 950 yards, Tau-Tolliver caught 38 passes for 317 yards and two scores for the Hornets in 2024, and said he’s been active as a pass-catcher for the Spartans this camp.
“He’s picking up the playbook,” Bhonapha said. “I think the one thing with him we have to continue to see is this is Big Ten football. I think he, athletically, fits in there, but from where he was at, just kind of being the guy at Sac State, being able to push through and take that next step. He’s done that nicely, but now it’s continuous through the end of fall camp as we work into the first week getting ready for Western Michigan.”
The common theme when Bhonapha talks about true freshmen Gist and Clarizio is the difficulty of navigating the grind of a college training camp for the first time. Two weeks in, with two weeks to go, there’s an intense learning curve for rookies, especially at a physically demanding position.
Gist has “progressed nicely,” Bhonapha said, adding the Frankfurt, Illinois, native has been challenged by the August workload.
Clarizio put on 17 pounds between spring ball and the start of camp, leaving him at a listed 208. Physically, that’s a plus in Bhonapha’s eyes, but the physical component is not what Bhonapha is most concerned about with the former East Lansing High star.
“I think (Clarizio is) starting to understand the rigors of college football when it comes to off the field, academics, how you need to operate in the meeting room, and taking what happens in the meeting room and taking it out there on the football field,” Bhonapha said. “Let’s be honest, he’s a true freshman, and he’s gonna make mistakes and things are gonna come up, but I’ve had that before. But I’m excited. It’s a high ceiling for that kid from an athletic standpoint; now it’s just getting into the day-to-day of being the best football player.”
Ideally, Bhonapha and MSU’s coaches hope to look back at this weekend as Separation Saturday, not Status Quo Saturday.
“These guys are kind of learning, but at the same time, they’re in the middle of it, so we need them to learn at an urgent pace as well,” Bhonapha said.
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