“We moved R.J. to receiver yesterday just to get him reps, but he really performed very well yesterday,” Dantonio said at practice. “He has great ball skills, he ran into his cuts. He played receiver, well, he played a variety of positions in high school. He’s adapted well, so we’re just making sure we’re getting him his reps.”

Minus Shelton, the position battle includes redshirt freshman Riley Bullough, who was No. 1 on the preseason depth chart, junior Jeremy Langford, junior Nick Hill, and freshmen Gerald Holmes and Delton Williams. Bullough moved past Langford and Hill in the spring after being converted from LB.

Dantonio said that all five guys stood out at practice.

“Guys played hard and defensively, we did some good things as well,” Dantonio said. “That’s what stood out.”

Dantonio also spoke highly of his freshman running backs, and noted they are definitely in the mix for the starting spot.

“They’re physical, they run behind their pads, and this is a man’s game so you have to be prepared for that,” Dantonio said of Holmes and Williams. “There’s some big people out.”

Williams was singled out by Dantonio at the football media day Monday when Dantonio said physically, he reminds him of former MSU running back Le’Veon Bell, who was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2013 NFL Draft.

Williams said he found out about the comparison from his mom, but ultimately brushed it off.

“My mom called me and said ‘they have high thoughts about you, and they feel that they want you to do great things,’” Williams said. “She told me ‘Stay humble, don’t let it get to you and just be positive.’ And that’s what I’m gonna do. Just because he compared me to Le’Veon Bell doesn’t mean I’m Le’Veon Bell. I’m me, I’m going to do the things I can do.”

Williams can also play the linebacker position, and Dantonio said part of camp will be figuring out which position he is best suited to play.

Williams said that all of the running backs have a nice shot at the starting spot. But ultimately, predicting who wins the spot is a guessing game at this point.

“I know it’s open right now, and everyone’s talking about who’s going to be the starting running back, everyone’s saying it might be me, it might be Gerald, it might be Riley, you don’t know,” Williams said. “Whoever coach Dantonio feels like he wants to throw that spot is going to be there.”