hotdigitydog said:
For my money, I'd go with JJ Johnson (combination of strength and size) and Keiffer McGee......Because he played on some bad teams and his career was cut short people don't realize how good he actually was.......He was so smooth and when running it looked almost effortless for him.........Tragic, truly tragic........He would've played on Sundays.........</p>
Keffer was a great, great person, not just a great running back. He was working on his MBA when he drowned. The year before he died, he suffered a knee injury in, I think, the 4th game. Out of the first 3 games, he had over 200 yards rushing in two of them, and a 100+ yard game in the other. For the last 15 years, I would say Keffer is the best. For the previous 15 years before then, going back 30 years, David Fair was the best before he tore up his knee. He was 6-2 225 and ran close to sub-4.4. J.J. Johnson was a David Fair without moves. There have been a lot of great RB's come through MSU:
1943: J.T. "Blondy" Black (UPI All American)
1948: Tom "Shorty" McWilliams (who also played at Army for a year in the same backfield with Doc Blanchard and Glenn Davis, both Heisman winners.)
1963: Ode Burrell
1965: Hoyle Granger
1976: Walter Packer (all 175 pounds of him), and FB Clarence Harmon
1979: James Jones (backed up Tony Dorsett for 5 years in Dallas)
1982: Michael Haddix
Then there are those more recent, that most here probably remember. Just thought I would give some recognition for the guys who grinded for MSU earlier.