Game recognizes game: Michigan State DB Dillon Tatum shouts out transfer RB Nathan Carter

East Lansing, Mich. – Game recognizes game, which is why Michigan State sophomore defensive back Dillon Tatum is perfectly willing to shout out transfer running back Nathan Carter. And Tatum, a starting cornerback for the Spartans, who takes pride in his ability to play all five positions in secondary for his ballclub, knows a thing or two about playing tailback.

Tatum, after all, spent much of his high school career at Bloomfield Hills playing tailback. And while Michigan State recruited him as a defensive back, several other programs that offered him during the recruiting process projected him as running back at the collegiate level.

As a former, running back, whose job description currently includes pitching in as a run defender, Tatum understands which qualities matter most at the tailback position. He is most impressed with tailbacks running backs have the ability to make a read, get up to full speed quickly, and hit the hole with purpose.

“Every time I look out there at a running back, I look at his vision and how fast he is getting back up the field,” Tatum said. “Running side-to-side as a running back, where is that going to get you? We want you to see the hole, attack it, and get up field and get as many yards as you can. You’ve always got to make one miss for sure.”

In Carter, Michigan State has a tailback that follows his blocking, and has the ability to accelerate quickly and get where he needs to go with both speed and power.

“When he first got here, I automatically knew that this dude is explosive,” Tatum said. “That comes from playing running back all through high school. I can see that really quickly with a guy.”

Carter’s explosive potential was on display in the season opener against CMU, as the former UConn standout turned in a pair of 31-yard runs for Michigan State, while also hitting the century mark as rusher in his first game as a Spartan.

During off-season workouts, Carter quickly became a teammate by which Tatum judges himself in the weightroom.

“Definitely, working out in the winter and summer, when we wouldn’t be in the same weight group, I would always ask, ‘hey, what did Nate do today?’” Tatum said. “’How much weight did he do?’ And then I’d put that same stuff on. As a good football player, he is very explosive. He is very strong, and strong minded. He wants to win football games, and I appreciate that.”

Tatum’s desire to match Carter in the weightroom speaks to the competitive fire that has been instilled in the Michigan State corner since childhood.

“It’s from my family,” Tatum said. “We compete about everything. Every single thing like even down to a hotdog … competing every day, getting to the car first. It goes down all the way to the little stuff.”

That same competitive streak prevents Tatum from giving big-bodied Spartan wide receiver Christian Fitzpatrick too much praise when asked if his 6-foot-5, 220-pound teammate was ever successful bodying him up during practice.

“He is a big guy, and he is not going to outrun me,” Tatum said. “He can break well, and he is a good player. I’m 200 man; you’re not going to push me off for real.”

That’s not to say that Tatum doesn’t respect Fitzpatrick. It’s just more palatable to shout out a running back than it is to praise a wideout that has spent the entire month of August using every trick he has to catch passes against you.

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