The transfer of an NFL-level tight end should be an important part of Michigan State’s new offense

Note: This is the fourth part of a series discussing Michigan State’s position groups ahead of fall camp. Today’s position: close end

Michigan State’s starting tight ends over the past four seasons have included a converted running back and former walk-ons as punters and kickers.

The previous person had taken a highly unusual approach to the position and had only achieved mixed results. Now it’s time for a fresh start.

Jonathan Smith enters his first season as head coach of the Spartans with a new team and a significant turnover at the tight end position. A mix of youth and experience returns, one of the best tight ends in the country has been added and there is new leadership. Tight ends coach Brian Wozniak followed Smith from Oregon State and helped develop a couple of NFL draft picks in recent years.

Review 2023:

Maliq Carr’s third season at Michigan State was his most productive, but the former four-star recruit remained inconsistent, making 30 catches for 352 yards and three touchdowns amid an unsettled quarterback situation. He dominated and delivered a career-high performance while leading a win at Indiana, but had one or no catches in four games and missed two games.

One season after playing just eight offensive snaps, Evan Morris started 10 times as a tight end. The walk-on and former kicker was used primarily as a blocker and had just four catches for eight yards.

Tyneil Hopper, a Boise State graduate, caught a touchdown but suffered a season-ending leg injury in the third game. True freshman Brennan Parachek, a former four-star recruit, played a small role in the second half of the season, making six catches for 55 yards in six games.

Personnel composition:

Return: Tyneil Hopper (seventh-year senior); Michael Masunas (redshirt sophomore); Brennan Parachek (sophomore); Ademola Faleye (redshirt third-year sophomore)

New addition in 2024: Wyatt Hook

Transfer supplement: Jack Velling

Gone: Maliq Carr, Evan Morris, Jack Nickel, Jaylan Franklin, Jackson Morse

Outlook 2024:

After the coaching change, Carr (Houston), Morris (UCF) and Jack Nickel (UAB) transferred, while Velling was an important reinforcement from the portal. The Seattle native has already worked with Wozniak for two years in coordinator Brian Lindgren’s offense. Last season he also caught passes from quarterback Aidan Chiles, who will be Michigan State’s starter in the fall.

Velling made an immediate impact as a true freshman at Oregon State in 2022, finishing with 16 pass catches for 281 yards and three touchdowns. He set a new record last year when he tied for the most by a tight end in the nation with eight touchdown catches. Senior Bowl executive director Jim Nagy recently praised Velling on social media, saying the junior has “already put enough on tape to be on every NFL team’s radar this fall.”

Velling will have to adjust as he moves to the newly formed Big Ten, but he is one of the best returning tight ends in the country and should be a key part of Michigan State’s offense. There are others fighting for playing time, with no clear leader.

Hopper is back after being in his seventh year of eligibility, which is approved by the NCAA, and provides a veteran player on the roster. He and Parachek both missed spring practice to recover and will play catch-up in fall camp. Michael Masunas, who played just four times on offense in his first two seasons at Michigan State, was mentioned several times by the team as a standout player in the spring. It’s unclear if Ademola Faleye, a 6-foot-4 former transfer from Norfolk State, will play a role, and the Spartans have signed a tight end in the 2024 class in Wyatt Hook.

Wozniak, an Ohio native and former tight end at Wisconsin who is also Michigan State’s recruiting coordinator, compared the ideal tight end in basketball to a hybrid of small forward and power forward.

“The more similar they are, the harder it is for the defense to defend you,” Wozniak said. “You go to a base, great, we’re going to spread it out, we’re going to throw it anywhere. Nickle, great, we’re going to narrow it down, we’re going to ram the ball right down your throat. That’s kind of my mindset and our mindset as an offense when we look at it.”

Wozniak mentored two recent NFL draft picks – Luke Musgrave went to the Packers in the second round in 2023 and Teagan Quitoriano went to the Texans in the fifth round the year before. Velling has the potential to make the jump to the next level and should be a key weapon for the Spartans this fall.