{"id":24188,"date":"2026-04-25T21:56:17","date_gmt":"2026-04-26T01:56:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/spartanshadows.com\/?p=24188"},"modified":"2026-05-21T16:17:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T20:17:16","slug":"michigan-state-football-udfa-tracker-following-2026-nfl-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spartanshadows.com\/?p=24188","title":{"rendered":"Michigan State Football UDFA Tracker Following 2026 NFL Draft"},"content":{"rendered":"

Michigan State football saw their draft streak expand to five straight years on Saturday. In the sixth round, the Spartans saw Matt Gulbin and Ryan Eckley taken off the board in a span of three picks. They became the final two players selected during the Jonathan Smith regime, and 325th<\/sup> and 326th<\/sup> players selected in Spartan football history.<\/p>\n

Gulbin was selected by the Washington Commanders and Ryan Eckley was taken by Baltimore, a mere 43 miles away from Gulbin.<\/p>\n

However, they were the only two Spartans drafted. That leaves players such as Malik Spencer, Jack Velling, and Quindarius Dunnigan looking for landing spots upon the ending of the draft.<\/p>\n

As of 1:45 p.m. EST on Sunday, eight Spartans had landing spots, with five of them signing contracts and three with a rookie minicamp deal.<\/p>\n

Here are the landing spots for those players. This will be updated.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Jack Velling runs during Senior Day introductions.
Nolan Gerou, Spartan Shadows<\/p><\/div>\n

Jack Velling, TE\u2014Atlanta Falcons<\/h3>\n

Upon the ending of the draft, it was clear that Velling was a target. Velling signed with the Atlanta Falcons, re-uniting with 2024 Spartan teammate Nate Carter, within an hour of the draft\u2019s conclusion.<\/p>\n

During his two years in East Lansing, Velling recorded 72 catches for 770 yards and four touchdowns.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Malik Spencer stands during Senior Day introductions.
Nolan Gerou, Spartan Shadows<\/p><\/div>\n

Malik Spencer, S\u2014Washington Commanders<\/h3>\n

The next player to get their pro contract inked was Spencer. Spencer was a Spartan that stuck the course, playing all four seasons with Michigan State football. During the pre-draft cycle, Spencer had a top 30 visit with the New England Patriots, but he will be re-uniting with Gulbin in the nation\u2019s capital.<\/p>\n

Spencer had 173 tackles, with six for loss and two sacks, to pair with two interceptions and 13 passes defensed in 38 games for MSU.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Omari Kelly catches a punt during Michigan State football’s win over Maryland.
Nolan Gerou, Spartan Shadows<\/p><\/div>\n

Omari Kelly, WR\u2014Chicago Bears<\/h3>\n

The pass-catching and punt-returning Kelly was the next Spartan to reach a deal. Kelly was a single-season player, joining Michigan State after stops in Auburn and Middle Tennessee State. He will be joining the dangerous Ben Johnson-coached offense with Caleb Williams.<\/p>\n

Kelly also has the chance to compete with former dangerous Lion return man Kalif Raymond in the Windy City.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Elijah Tau-Tolliver runs during Senior Day introductions.
Nolan Gerou, Spartan Shadows<\/p><\/div>\n

Elijah Tau-Tolliver, RB\u2014 Baltimore Ravens<\/h3>\n

Tau-Tolliver started his lone season with Michigan State football as the third player on the running back depth chart. The Sacramento State transfer earned his way into the starting role by Senior Day, where he went and ran for a touchdown on his first carry against Penn State. He signed with the Baltimore Ravens a few hours after the draft ended, inking a deal shortly before 10:00 p.m. EST.<\/p>\n

The back had 72 carries for 428 yards and two touchdowns, along with 18 catches for 139 yards in his season with MSU.<\/p>\n

\"Quindarius

Quindarius Dunnigan embraces former head coach Jonathan Smith.
Nolan Gerou, Spartan Shadows<\/p><\/div>\n

Quindarius Dunnigan, EDGE\/LB\u2014Jacksonville Jaguars<\/h3>\n

Dunnigan reached a deal the morning after the NFL Draft, signing a deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars. The former Middle Tennessee State transfer was asked to work out at linebacker after showing some flash and speed during his Pro Day, running a 4.75 in the 40-yard.<\/p>\n

During his two years in East Lansing, Dunnigan recorded 42 tackles, 9 of them for loss, and 3.5 sacks, along with two forced fumbles, in 23 games. He was also a team captain for his final season in the green and white.<\/p>\n

(Note: It was initially reported he had a minicamp offer with the Tennessee Titans, but passed on that for a contract with the Jaguars.)<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"

Joshua Eaton stands during Senior Day introductions.
Nolan Gerou, Spartan Shadows<\/p><\/div>\n

Joshua Eaton, CB\u2014 Seattle Seahawks\u00a0(Minicamp Invite)<\/em><\/h3>\n

Eaton gets the chance to impress with the reigning Super Bowl Champion Seattle Seahawks. The one-year Spartan started his career with Oklahoma before heading to Texas State and finishing in East Lansing. Worth noting that Eaton was only invited to the minicamp, not a contract.<\/p>\n

During his sole season in the green and white, Eaton recorded 19 tackles and two pass deflections with a coverage grade of 65.0, per PFF.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Malcolm Bell jogs to the locker room for his last collegiate halftime.
Nolan Gerou, Spartan Shadows<\/p><\/div>\n

Malcolm Bell, CB\u2014 Cleveland Browns (Minicamp Invite)<\/em><\/h3>\n

Bell is taking his talents a few hours south of East Lansing, as he will be working out for the Cleveland Browns. The former UConn defensive back impressed in his last year with Michigan State, and is expected to receive some interest from the Canadian Football League as well.<\/p>\n

In his final season, Bell recorded 49 tackles, with five for loss including a sack, and six pass deflections. PFF graded his coverage at an astounding 83.7.<\/p>\n

\"Michigan

Wayne Matthews III speaks with the media after Michigan State’s win over Western Michigan.
Nolan Gerou, Spartan Shadows<\/p><\/div>\n

Wayne Matthews III, LB\u2014 Chicago Bears (Minicamp Invite, Later Signed)<\/em><\/h3>\n

Matthews III was the starting linebacker alongside Jordan Hall for his last campaign, and the older linebacker had some flashes during his time with Michigan State. He will be trying to break up passes intended for former teammates Omari Kelly during rookie minicamp this spring.<\/p>\n

During his pair of seasons with Michigan State, Matthews III was responsible for 106 tackles, with 4.5 of them for loss, an interception, and a pass deflection over 21 games.<\/p>\n

UPDATE: After a successful rookie minicamp, Matthews III was signed by the Bears.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Michigan State football saw their draft streak expand to five straight years on Saturday. In the sixth round, the Spartans saw Matt Gulbin and Ryan Eckley taken off the board in a span of three picks. They became the final two players selected during the Jonathan Smith regime, and 325th and 326th players selected in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":23051,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[173,178],"tags":[59,573,385,191,189,504,848,345],"class_list":["post-24188","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-football","category-pro-spartans","tag-featured","tag-jack-velling","tag-malik-spencer","tag-michigan-state-football","tag-michigan-state-spartans","tag-news","tag-omari-kelly","tag-spartans-in-the-nfl"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/spartanshadows.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24188","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/spartanshadows.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/spartanshadows.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spartanshadows.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spartanshadows.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=24188"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/spartanshadows.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24188\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spartanshadows.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/23051"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/spartanshadows.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=24188"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spartanshadows.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=24188"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spartanshadows.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=24188"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}