He leads the team in touchdowns and is second in rushing, but it seems sophomore running back Jehuu Caulcrick, the toast of the town last season, is disappearing from the MSU offense.
Last season, Caulcrick dazzled fans with his straight-ahead power running and emerged as a fan favorite after his performance in the Spartans' 49-14 upset against No. 4 Wisconsin. Caulcrick ran over Badger after Badger en route to 146 yards on just 13 carries.
But this season, the emergence of freshman Javon Ringer puts Caulcrick and senior Jason Teague on the back burner as the MSU coaches try to get Ringer more involved in the offense.
"I'm trying to get (Ringer) the ball instead of letting the offense work a little bit," offensive coordinator Dave Baldwin said. "I had a couple third-down situations where I ran him because he's been so good for us.
"He's a playmaker. When you get a playmaker, you want him to touch the ball."
The coaching staff has been high on Ringer, wanting to give the younger player some time on the field, however Caulcrick is only a sophomore.
Head coach John L. Smith has said it's not what Caulcrick is or isn't doing, but what Ringer is capable of.
"There's only so many snaps and we want to get Ringer in the ballgame," Smith said. "The more time Ringer gets, the better Ringer gets. He'll continue to get more time. He's going to be something down the road."
Despite the lack of snaps, Caulcrick just wants to do what's best for the team.
"We're not making it an issue," he said. "We have three good backs and that's why we're in the top 20 in the country in rushing — so anyone can go in there, run the ball, block, do anything."
After getting 34 carries through the first two games, Caulcrick has seen just 46 in the seven games since, including zero in the 28-21 loss to Purdue.
"I know he didn't play a lot of reps (against Purdue) which would probably lead to some questions," running backs coach Ben Sirmans said. "But it's not the first time that's been the situation for him or for some of the other guys."
MSU's play calling for the backs is becoming more speed-oriented, leaving a downhill runner like Caulcrick on the sidelines, especially against Purdue.
"We ran an abundance of outside-type plays, plays that emphasize speed," Sirmans said. "So when that happens, you want to get the guys that give you the best chance in there to have success."
The coaching staff insists Caulcrick hasn't fallen out of favor.
"I'd love to get Caulcrick as many carries as we could," Baldwin said. "He can make plays. We just want guys to make plays, but it has to be the right situation."
But when it comes down to goal-line situations, Caulcrick is the back the coaching staff wants, as evident by his team-leading seven touchdown runs this season.
Caulcrick said he enjoys the pressure of the short-yardage carries.
"I like to be depended on on those fourth-and-inches or goal line," he said. "I want the defenses to know that 30's getting the ball."
Junior quarterback Drew Stanton said he does not want to have the problem the coaches have in trying to split up carries between the three backs.
"It's definitely not something that's easy," he said. "You can't say just throw one of them in the game for the whole game because it could be taking away from the other two."
In the end, though, the Spartans are blessed with a good problem — three talented backs who each bring different things to the table. Finding playing time for each of them, though, has proven to be tough.
"If we're in a situation where we gave each of them 20-25 carries a game, each of them are capable of rushing for 1,000 yards," Sirmans said. "We know that (Caulcrick's) more than capable of doing some great things with the ball."
