Michigan State's Top TE Disappoints Against Indiana
The Michigan State Spartans don't have a whole lot of genuine NFL talent on their roster with the 2025 draft coming up in April, but they do have one particularly intriguing player who could end up being a legitimate professional threat: tight end Jack Velling.
Velling transferred over from Oregon State in January 2024 after a couple of strong years with the Beavers. He caught 16 passes for 281 yards and three touchdowns during his freshman campaign, and last season, he hauled in 29 receptions for 438 yards and eight scores.
Velling's average of 16 yards per reception at Oregon State was particularly impressive, especially for a 6-foot-5, 244-pound tight end.
So when Michigan State landed him last winter, there was some genuine excitement surrounding him.
However, Velling has been inconsistent this year, and not always to his own fault. Saturday's game against Indiana was the latest disappointing showing from Velling in what was a blowout loss to the Hoosiers. Velling recorded just two catches for 22 yards.
To be fair, the Spartans, in general, didn't exactly put their best effort forward in their 37-point defeat, giving up 47 unanswered points after jumping out to a surprising 10-0 first-quarter lead.
But after Velling posted a few solid outings against some tough opponents the previous several weeks, there was some hope that the Seattle native would be able to continue his stretch of impressive play on Saturday.
Clearly, that did not happen, but hope is certainly not lost for Velling.
On the year overall, the junior pass-catcher has snared 29 balls for 318 yards. Although he has yet to reach the end zone, he is on pace to have the most productive campaign of his collegiate career from a volume perspective.
Additionally, 14 of his 29 grabs came in Michigan State's prior three contests against Oregon, Iowa and Michigan, three squads with tough defenses.
While Velling hasn't been the tight end he was anticipated to be going into this season, given how important the position now is on the NFL level, he could find himself being selected earlier than expected in this year's NFL Draft, should he declare.
Of course, a strong finish to the 2024 season would go a long way in establishing his draft positioning, so it would be best to avoid any more lackluster outings.
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