LJ Scott hints at leaving Michigan State after junior season

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NCAA Football: Michigan State at Penn State
Nov 26, 2016; University Park, PA, USA; Michigan State Spartans running back LJ Scott (3) runs with the ball as Penn State Nittany Lions defensive end Torrence Brown (19) defends during the fourth quarter at Beaver Stadium. The Nittany Lions won 45-12. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

If Michigan State is going to bounce back from a 3-9 year, a big component of that will come from running back LJ Scott, who will be entering his junior year come next fall. And he may have just teased about his future with the program.

The Spartans’ sophomore tailback sent out on a tweet on Sunday (protected if Scott does not follow you on Twitter, but it read “man seeing me dawgs in the combine gives me chills. Just a year from now. #patience3”

The Marion, Ohio-native back is referring to the NFL Combine that wrapped up this past weekend in Indianapolis for former college football players preparing to go pro. The tweet definitely caught the attention of many. Like Scott after the 2017 season, any college football player who has played a minimum of three seasons can officially declare for the NFL Draft.

Could LJ Scott have hinted at foregoing his senior season at MSU to go pro?

It’s possible, but his tweet sure did generate a lot of reaction. So much so that it prompted Scott to eventually respond with “no place I would rather be (right now.)” Among the chain of responses came from redshirt freshman quarterback Brian Lewerke. He poked fun at Scott, correcting the running back’s tweet with a tweet of his own saying “*2 years”, to which Scott replied “agreed.”

Scott took the next step in 2016 becoming the undisputed No. 1 back for the Spartans in a terrible season at MSU. He was just six yards shy of breaking the 1,000-yard plateau and his 2016 total was roughly 300 yards more than what he accumulated as a freshman in 2015.

Scott’s total number of rushing touchdowns between his frosh and soph years dipped from 11 to 6, but he was a lot more active in the passing game. He caught ten passes for 147 yards and a score in 2016. In fact, he was the only Spartan player to register more than 1,000 total yards from scrimmage last year.

Lewerke figures to be a strong candidate to be the Opening Day quarterback for MSU come next season. It was a dismal campaign for all MSU play-callers in 2016, but Lewerke in his four games played showed pockets of excellence. Overall, he completed 31 passes on 57 attempts for 381 yards, two TDs and a pick before bowing out on the season with an injury.

 

**Player/Team stats courtesy of Sports-Reference