Michigan State football may have its next truly great running back. That's at least what his head coach thinks. Michigan State is about halfway through fall preseason camp and new head coach Pat Fitzgerald caught up with the local media on Monday to discuss a number of topics. One of those was new transfer running back Cam Edwards. Fitzgerald spoke extremely high of Edwards, stating he expects him to be the best running back in the country. Fitzgerald cited a recent play in practice where Edwards amazed him and running backs coach Devon Spalding, which resulted in him joking that Edwards doesn't need to do much more until the season-opener. You can see the full quote from Fitzgerald on Edwards in the social media post below -- courtesy of Emmett Matasovsky of Spartan Shadows:
Pat Fitzgerald: "I expect him (Cam Edwards) to be the best back in the country. There was a play yesterday where Devon Spalding and I looked at each other and I said, 'I'm good. Put him in bubble wrap till the season opener.'" — Emmett Matasovsky (@E_Matasovsky57) August 17, 2026 Edwards transferred to Michigan State this past season after a highly successful four-year career with UConn. He appeared in 36 games (redshirting during his first season), where he recorded 2,690 rushing yards, 467 receiving yards and 31 total touchdowns. This past season in particular, he ran for over 1,200 yards and 15 touchdowns. If Edwards can be as good as Fitzgerald and others believe, then Michigan State's ceiling this fall rises drastically. The Spartans are expected to have an improved running game behind Edwards and a better offensive line, and this kind of statement only makes me personally feel better about that expectation. Michigan State will open the season on September 4 against Toledo. Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET. Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan State news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Robert Bondy on X @RobertBondy5. This article originally appeared on Spartans Wire: Fitzgerald raves about new RB Cam Edwards, states he will be 'best back in country'