EAST LANSING — Michigan State has 14 receivers listed on its spring roster but only four running backs.

If there's an area the Spartans failed to protect themselves in recruiting over the past few years, it's at the all-important tailback position.

Interestingly enough, former running backs coach (now quarterbacks coach) Brad Salem was and is the recruiting coordinator.

It seems juniors Nick Hill and Jeremy Langford, as well as redshirt freshman Nick Tompkins, have failed to impress enough this spring, based on coach Mark Dantonio's comments on a Wednesday teleconference.

Dantonio isn't hitting the panic button — Michigan State is bringing in three freshmen tailback candidates in R.J. Shelton (5-foot-11, 190 pounds, Beaver Dam, Wis.), Gerald Holmes (6-1, 205, Flint Carman-Ainsworth) and Delton Williams (6-2, 205, Cathedral Prep, Erie, Pa.).

Dantonio said he plans to audition players from other positions at tailback — though he didn't mention names.

"Obviously it's a position of concern for us,'' said Dantonio, who watched junior tailback Le'Veon Bell declare himself eligible for the upcoming NFL Draft following a 1,793-yard season that ranked third in the NCAA ranks.

"But our guys are playing hard,'' Dantonio said. "You've got to find a guy you can give the ball to 250 times; I don't know that we have that yet.

"We'll look for other guys from within our team to move in that direction, and I think we have some good candidates. We'll slide them in and out in practice, see how they handle things.''

Here's a look at five potential candidates, based on their high school experience at the position, size and stage of their careers:

Redshirt freshman linebacker Darien Harris, a 6-foot, 215-pounder from DeMatha Catholic High School in Silver Spring, Md., rushed 92 times for 793 yards (8.6 avg.) as a senior, including two 100-yard games (12 carries for 114 yards vs. O'Connell and 19 attempts for 159 yards vs. St. John's).

Redshirt sophomore Arjen Colquhoun (6-1, 195) is currently listed as the No. 3 cornerback, so moving him to tailback seems less likely. But Colquhoun was a two-time all-city selection as a running back in 2008-09 at W.F. Herman Secondary School in Windsor, Ontario.

Sophomore linebacker Ed Davis (6-3, 220) carried 20 times for 193 yards (9.7 avg.) and four TDs in one game as a junior at Detroit's Southeastern High School.

Redshirt freshman defensive end Jamal Lyles (6-3, 242) played five positions at Southfield-Lathrup High School, including quarterback and running back.

Redshirt sophomore RJ Williamson (6-0, 205) is listed as a back-up safety, but he once rushed for more than 300 yards in a high school game as a junior at Dunbar in Middletown, Ohio.

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