Michigan State's Aidan Chiles, right, talks with Nick Marsh, left, and Omari Kelly on the sideline during the fourth quarter in the game against Western Michigan on Friday, Aug. 29, 2025, in East Lansing. Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

How Much More MSU's Aidan Chiles Thinks Receivers Can Showcase

Originally posted on Michigan State Spartans on SI
By Aidan Champion | Last updated Sep 5, 2025 9:00 AM ET

Michigan State fans were excited to see the Spartans' restocked wide receiver room on full display in the Spartans' season opener against Western Michigan last Friday.

That wasn't necessarily the case, as only three Spartans finished the game with more than a single reception, and one of them wasn't a wide receiver (tight end Michael Masunas). Newcomer Omari Kelly, the senior wideout from Middle Tennessee State, did lead the way for Michigan State's passing offense with his team-high 75 receiving yards, but the overall distribution was a bit underwhelming.

Even sophomore receiver Nick Marsh, whom fans are anticipating to have a separation year, tallied just 32 receiving yards in the contest.

Michigan State finished with 155 passing yards in the game, and ironically, it was the run game that stood out for the offense, as the Spartans totaled 181 yards on the ground.

How much more can the Spartan receivers show?

"I think we left a lot on the table," junior quarterback Aidan Chiles said on Tuesday . "I think there's a lot more that we can still do with this receiving corps. A lot of guys didn't even touch the ball. Rod Bullard, I don't think he touched the ball. And then, we still have tight ends -- Jack Velling and Mike Masunas, you have Brennan Parachek, too -- coming out. I think we still have guys that can run around the field and catch the ball.

"We tried to get some other guys going, but other than that, it was Week 1. Didn't really get to show everything, not trying to put everything out there, but coming out and just keep playing how we're playing, and then, hopefully, everybody touches the ball."

Against a much better upcoming opponent in Boston College, it's likely the Spartans will display more of their offense on Saturday. If that happens, one would have to assume Marsh and Velling are going to have a much larger impact this weekend. Velling had just one catch for 3 yards last week, but he did have a small window of preparation after missing most of fall camp due to injury.