MSU Veteran Gives Bold Take on Spartans' TE Room

Originally posted on Michigan State Spartans on SI
By Aidan Champion | Last updated Sep 5, 2025 10:00 AM ET

A lot of the talk surrounding Michigan State's offense this season was its wide receiver room.

The Spartans returned a rising star in sophomore wide receiver Nick Marsh while also adding some talented veterans in Omari Kelly, Chrishon McCray and Rodney Bullard Jr.

What might not get discussed enough, though, is Michigan State's deep tight end room.

The Spartans brought back senior tight end Jack Velling, who once again made the John Mackey Award Watch List prior to the season and is still be held to a high standard in what is his final collegiate season.

Then there's redshirt junior Michael Masunas, who showed promise early on last year before suffering a season-ending injury.

Masunas is very high on his room. It's not only a deep room, but a talented one across the board. The Spartans showcased some of this with a considerable amount of 12-personnel looks against Western Michigan last week.

"I love it," Masunas said on Tuesday. "As many tight ends we can get on the field, the better. I think we have one of the best tight end groups in the nation, not including just Jack and I, but BP (Brennan Parachek), Kai (Rios), Jayden (Savoury), some of the younger guys coming in, Jay Coyne. And I think we got a great group, and using them all in their different ways is awesome."

Michael Masunas on tight end room's capability

A lot of the tight ends in the room were here last year, but the potential of the group wasn't really displayed. Masunas believes more can be shown this year.

"I think we have the guys to go do a lot more in the offense now," he said. "We have a better skill set, we have a better understanding of the offense, and I think we're going to be able to do a lot more this year."

Velling finished last week's season opener with just one reception for 3 yards, but he had still been adjusting after dealing with an injury for most of fall camp. Masunas, meanwhile, caught two passes for a total of 22 yards.