Michigan State Football: Top 5 prospects for 2021 NFL Draft

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EAST LANSING, MICHIGAN – NOVEMBER 09: Matt Dotson #89 of the Michigan State Spartans battles for extra yards after a first half catch against Milo Eifler #5 of the Illinois Fighting Illini at Spartan Stadium on November 09, 2019 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

When Matt Dotson committed to Michigan State back in 2017, the hopes for his future in East Lansing were incredibly high. He was a highly-regarded four-star tight end who Mark Dantonio had to wrestle away from the likes of Penn State and other Power Five programs and he was expected to have an immediate impact.

Unfortunately his career hasn’t gone quite as planned but he was in the midst of a career-year in 2019 before suffering a season-ending injury in game No. 7.

Dotson’s career kicked off with a quiet freshman season, catching two passes for 19 yards in two games — this was before the four-game redshirt rule. As a sophomore, he stepped up and caught 14 passes for 159 yards and his first career touchdown. That was something to build on as he had 16 catches for 151 yards and a touchdown through seven games as a junior before his season-ending injury. He could have doubled those stats in six more games.

Now that he’s entering his senior year, he’s a leader on offense and he’s playing for a coach in Jay Johnson who called the tight end his ‘MVP’. That’s music to Dotson’s ears.

NFL teams would love an athletic tight end like Matt who has good size at 6-foot-5 and 250 pounds who has barely scratched the surface of his potential. He could be in for a breakout year.

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