Michigan State Football: Top 5 spring 2019 breakout candidates

TEMPE, AZ - SEPTEMBER 08: Head coach Mark Dantonio of the Michigan State Spartans reacts during warm ups to the college football game against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Sun Devil Stadium on September 8, 2018 in Tempe, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

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LINCOLN, NE – NOVEMBER 17: Helmets of the Michigan State Spartans during the game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Memorial Stadium on November 17, 2018 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images) /

Underutilized doesn’t even begin to describe the tight end position since Josiah Price graduated and that’s something Mark Dantonio wants to fix. With a new offensive coordinator, that may be the case, but we’ll need some affirmation during the spring game.

Matt Sokol has graduated, leaving the starting job presumably to Matt Dotson, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The junior tight end was a highly-touted prospect in the Spartans’ 2017 class and could be the next star at the position. He struggled, at times, in 2018, but finished with 14 catches for 159 yards and a touchdown.

But he does have a backup.

Redshirt freshman Trenton Gillison was one of the top tight ends in the nation for 2018, ranking as the No. 250 overall prospect and 12th-best tight end, per 247Sports. He grew up wanting an Ohio State offer, but it never came so he pledged to the green and white.

Those types of kids usually fair typically well for the Spartans.

Gillison is a 6-4, 267-pound athletic tight end who has bulked up his frame in order to hang with the big boys on the line in the college ranks. I’m expecting big things from him this spring, extending into the fall.

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