Athleticism of New MSU TE on Display This Spring

EAST LANSING, Mich. --- It's normally pretty easy to bring football players down to one position. Most of them are fine with it.

New Michigan State tight end Carson Gulker is not one of those guys. Gulker transferred to MSU this winter from Division II dynasty Ferris State. During his time with the Bulldogs, you could see Gulker catch, run, and even throw the ball.

He's accounted for 73 touchdowns during his collegiate career -- 50 rushing, 16 passing, and seven receiving. The jump from Division II to the Big Ten is significant, but playing for the best D-II program in the country certainly helps.

That all-around ability opens some very interesting possibilities for Nick Sheridan's offense at MSU. Gulker is listed as a tight end on the Spartans' roster, but he can be in the backfield or even play quarterback.

On Gulker's Athleticism

"He's an insane athlete," redshirt junior tight end Brennan Parachek said back on Tuesday. "He's been a great addition to the room, a great kid, just a great teammate, great player. And it's interesting because he's like that one kid that could do it all."

Gulker, who has thrown for 1,591 career passing yards with 16 touchdowns to just four picks, is a pretty easy guy to play catch with. On the ground, he's bounded for 2,228 career rushing yards, averaging 5.3 yards per carry and reaching the half-century mark for scores.

Gulker Is Versatile

He's actually more used to throwing passes to others than catching them. All of his receiving stats were from last season, going to the tune of 34 catches, 548 yards, and seven touchdowns. The 6-foot-3, 245-pound frame still projects as a tight end, but the position is still relatively new for Gulker.

"We refer to those guys as positionless players," Sheridan said. "So, guys that are tough to handle. I use the analogy in basketball: guys that can dribble with both hands, guys that can shoot, guys that can take the ball to the rack."

"That's what we're looking for in football. So, guys that can catch, guys that can block, guys that can run the ball. The defense has to make a decision on how they're going to try to stop them, and then you do the other thing. So the more you do well, the harder you are to defend."

With the loss of Jack Velling (graduation) and Michael Masunas (transferred to Texas) this past offseason, tight end is already one of the bigger question marks on the roster. The usage of Gulker this coming fall is right up there with it.