One of the most important pieces to Michigan State's 2025 puzzle is dealing with an injury during fall camp that has reportedly kept him out of practice for an extended time.
Fortunately, it sounds like the Spartans might get him back sooner rather than later.
According to SpartansWire, Bud Elliott spoke about news and notes on his Cover 3 Podcast this week, and Michigan State came up. He talked about an injury to a key offensive starter that has kept him out of practice, but he should be back "soon".
"Michigan State tight end Jack Velling has not practiced yet due to a foot (injury). But they do expect him to be back fairly soon, so that's good."Bud Elliott, Cover 3 Podcast
This hadn't been reported by the local media yet, so this was a bit of a surprise to hear/read. Jack Velling is expected to be one of the key pieces to Michigan State's potential 2025 turnaround. He is one of Aidan Chiles' favorite targets, and he came over from Oregon State with the QB1 as well as Jonathan Smith. His familiarity with the coaching staff and Chiles is a big reason why people expect him to have a huge senior season.
Well, that and the fact that he led the nation in touchdowns for a tight in in 2023 before transferring to Michigan State.
The 6-foot-5, 245-pound tight end from Seattle didn't score his first touchdown with the Spartans until the season finale against Rutgers, but you could tell he got more comfortable in East Lansing with each passing week in 2024.
Let's hope Michigan State gets a fully healthy Velling back by the time Western Michigan comes to town to kick off the 2025 season.