Over the weekend, it was reported that Michigan State starting tight end Jack Velling was nursing a foot injury but could be back "fairly soon", according to Bud Elliott's Cover 3 Podcast.
The news was slightly shocking because it wasn't previously reported, but Elliott seemed confident that Velling would be back sooner rather than later. Still, that didn't stop some fans from panicking because it was the first reported injury to a starter this fall.
On Monday, Nikai Martinez was added to the list of injured players as Jonathan Smith said that he would be a game-time decision for next weekend's Western Michigan game.
But Smith had a positive update on the Velling front.
According to the second-year head coach, the team's starting tight end was back at practice on Monday during the team period.
Jack Velling was practicing during the team period today, via Jonathan Smith.
— Emmett Matasovsky (@E_Matasovsky57) August 18, 2025
With some bad news (Martinez) comes some good news. From the sounds of it, Velling is going to be good to go for the season opener against Western, especially if he's already back practicing with the team. The staff could opt to hold him out for precautionary reasons, but it sounds like the chances of him playing next week are high.
Velling is going to be a key piece to the offensive puzzle this season, and he'll need to continue developing that rapport with his quarterback, Aidan Chiles, during camp.
Two years ago, he led all tight ends nationally in touchdown catches but only had one last year with the Spartans, recording his lone score in the season finale against Rutgers (a loss). He'll need to be much more productive in the red zone this season.
As long as he stays healthy, I see that happening.