Michigan State football tight ends putting on a clinic early

With the Michigan State football regular season one-third of the way done, there is a proper sample size to judge performances. In the Big Ten, one of the Spartans’ groups rises above the rest. The Spartan tight end room has been elite through the first four contests of the season.

Michigan State Football: Tight End Factory?

Currently, the Spartans have the top ranked tight end in PFF grades among the conference. However, it is not the name everyone would expect. How about redshirt junior Michael Masunas ranking as the best the tight end in the Big Ten through four weeks?

Masunas is in the middle of a career year. Heading into the year, he had eight catches for 38 yards in 13 games. In the first four games alone, Masunas has recorded his first two career touchdowns on seven catches, and has 94 yards on the year. This comes with him only being primarily featured in multi-tight end packages.

With his effort on blocking, it is hard for teams to know when a deadly tight end play action release is coming, which has turned the Chiles-to-Masunas connection into a free eight-or-more-yard play.

Jack Velling was the name that everyone raved about upon his transfer from Oregon State. The TE touchdown leader in the FBS from 2023 was expected to transform the Spartans with Brian Wozniak. Now, Velling is living up to the billing. He is having his own respectable season, with the senior being ranked No. 10 among the Big Ten in grades.

Velling also got his first touchdown of the season against USC, which is something the Spartans failed to record until the final half in Michigan State football’s season finale last year. He also has a few missed chances in the endzone, and it is highly plausible that he would be at three or more touchdowns with a few small tweaks in the throw, his route, or coachable mistakes.

Overall, the Spartan tight end duo has created a problem for teams so far. My only concern is they may be exceeding expectations too well, and Masunas might play his way into draftable conversations. Which, may I point out, is a great problem to have.

Another great problem to have is the third tight end being talented enough to play. Enter Jayden Savoury.

Jayden Savoury is the future for Michigan State football at tight end

Jayden Savoury is a player that coaches and teammates alike cannot stop talking about. Every week, the offensive press conferences find a new way to shout out Jayden Savoury. From the beginning of the year, where Jonathan Smith made sure to throw Savoury’s name into the playing time conversation, it has been apparent.

Brian Wozniak praised Savoury’s thirst for knowledge and his athletic background, Masunas and Velling have both taken the Orchard Lake (MI.) St. Mary’s kid under their wing, and it is paying off.

Savoury has gone from a summer enrollee to playing three of the first four games for MSU, and it is confirmed that there are already Savoury-specific play calls on Brian Lindgren’s call sheet. In the Big Ten, it is rare to see a freshman bestowed this honor. In fact, the freshman’s first ever collegiate snap was a third down play designed for him, and Aidan Chiles’s slightly high throw enabled Savoury to show off his athletic background.

Earlier this week, Savoury was a player Smith seemingly confirmed to not be redshirting, with the staff meeting during the bye week and deciding the tight end and a few others would not redshirt.

That was not the only Savoury shoutout of the week, however. Jack Velling was asked about Savoury’s play, and the senior was ready to praise the freshman. Velling noted his development and said he is excited for Savoury’s future.

“He’s improving so much from when he first got here,” Velling said of Savoury. “From not knowing the types of routes to now he’s obviously making catches, making grabs in the game. He’s gonna be a fantastic player, I’m excited to watch him grow through his years here. I’m excited he can come on these trips (travel roster) with us, and learning, and (I am) trying to just, you know, take him under the wing a little and just keep teaching different things.”

Even if the Spartans lose Masunas and Velling to the draft next year, Michigan State football is in good, reliable hands in the tight end room.