REPORT: MSU's Velling One of Top Returning TEs in CFB

Michigan State football has a promising roster so far, mixed with a solid blend of newcomers and returners.

One of those returning who is expected to make a big impact is rising senior tight end Jack Velling, one of the initial transfers who followed Jonathan Smith and Co. over from Oregon State.

Velling is entering his second season with the Spartans and is already projected to be one of the top returning tight ends in the nation.

Pro Football Focus' Max Chadwick has Velling ranked the No. 8 returning tight end in the country.

"Velling entered 2024 as PFF's No. 8 tight end in college football and remains in that spot a year later," Chadwick wrote. "While his first season as a Spartan wasn’t as productive as his sophomore campaign at Oregon State, his body of work over the past two years keeps him in the top 10.

"Velling has scored nine touchdowns since 2023, tied for the fifth most among Power Four tight ends. His 849 receiving yards in that span rank 20th among all tight ends in college football. Only five returning FBS tight ends have been more valuable than Velling, according to PFF’s wins above average metric."

Now, we have seen this story before, as Chadwick mentioned. High expectations surrounded Velling going into his first season as a Spartan, and it ended up being a rather underwhelming campaign for him.

But it wasn't just him. Offensively, there weren't many Spartans who had a standout year, as the unit as whole struggled often.

Velling finished the year with just 411 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown but did total a career-best 36 receptions.

This came one season after Velling's promising sophomore season with Oregon State, in which he recorded 438 yards and eight touchdowns on 29 receptions.

Velling announced shortly after the 2024 season concluded that he would be returning to Michigan State.

The veteran tight end spoke on what he needs to do to be better following the Spartans' final game, a loss to Rutgers.

"Individually, I need to continue to step up and improve as a leader," he said. "Rally behind the guys and keep all of them up. I need to work on myself in the weight room and on the field. As a team, it's just keep taking steps and not taking steps back.

"We need to build up chemistry and the culture that we have here and keep it going. Just take another step next year and be better next year."

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