Only three days stand between Michigan State football players and their first live action against players with different colored jerseys.
We're mere hours away from 2025 kickoff, and the coaching staff got to speak to the media this week, giving updates on the roster, and some guys who are standing out heading into the Western Michigan game.
Jonathan Smith spoke to the media on Monday and provided some interesting tidbits, and both Joe Rossi and Brian Lindgren were in front of the media on Tuesday.
Rossi gave some praise to a couple of veterans like Sam Edwards and Armorion Smith who he called smart football players, and then Lindgren talked about a young tight end who's standing out.
Once again, the name Jayden Savoury came out of Lindgren's mouth -- it's been a trend since the freshman tight end got to campus.
Brian Lindgren: “Jayden Savoury is a tight end that has been put on the offense in passing situations. We’ve lined him up out wide, he’s had good plays during both scrimmages.”
— Emmett Matasovsky (@E_Matasovsky57) August 26, 2025
Based on this quote and also praise of Savoury from previous scrimmages, it sounds like he's talented enough to play this season, and he's been getting looks in passing situations. He may be a guy that the staff brings in on two-tight end sets in passing situations to give the defense different looks. He could be another weapon for Aidan Chiles to utilize.
Velling has already proven to be the TE1 on this team, but he's been battling injuries during fall camp. He's good to go now, according to Smith, but in the event that he goes down for an extended period of time, it's good to know the Spartans have a true freshman who could step up.
I'm not sure if I'd predict a breakout this season, considering he'll be fighting for snaps with Michael Masunas and Brennan Parachek, but he's at least worth keeping an eye on.
Savoury might just become the next star tight end when Velling leaves.
Don't be surprised to see his redshirt burned this season.