The 2027 class has been the focus for Michigan State’s coaching staff, but Pat Fitzgerald was apparently not done adding to his 2026 class.
While he’s preparing for another big official visit weekend, Fitzgerald has locked up a commitment from a preferred walk-on tight end from right down the road.
On Thursday afternoon, Michigan State picked up a commitment from Ethan Melville, an unranked in-state tight end prospect who was committed to Calvin College originally. He’ll be a preferred walk-on in East Lansing, according to reports.
Extremely bless to announce that I’m flipping my commitment from Calvin to Michigan State University! Huge thank you to @CoachWozniakTE @coachfitz51 and all of my Holt coaches.Couldn’t be more thankful for such an opportunity! I will be committing as a Tight End.💚🤍@MIexposure pic.twitter.com/jeLmggOmyP
— Ethan Melville (@Ethan_mel14) June 4, 2026
Melville only had a handful of offers from smaller Division III programs, but Fitzgerald saw something in him that he liked and decided to pursue him as a walk-on and a late addition to the class. He’s adding to the tight end room with a guy who’s likely going to be a staple on the scout team for a year or two.
The 6-foot-4, 215-pound tight end will join the roster this summer. He’s going to join a pretty solid tight end room that’s getting a facelift with Jayden Savoury, Carson Gulker, Brennan Parachek, Eddie Whiting, Joey Caudill, Charlie Baker, and Kai Rios. The room is less experienced, but it’s going to have some depth and serious potential.
Brian Wozniak will have a talented TE room to work with
It remains to be seen what kind of impact Melville may have in East Lansing eventually, but at the very least, he’s going to be a valuable member of the scout team.
Plus, it’s always important to add in-state prospects to make sure teammates understand the Michigan rivalry. We can’t have anyone speaking like Jonathan Smith did after that first loss to the Wolverines in 2024 where he sounded like a robot trying to explain how intense the rivalry is.
Tight ends coach Brian Wozniak now has a deep room led by one of the most underrated transfers in the Big Ten (Gulker) as well as a rising redshirt freshman (Savoury), a veteran former four-star who’s getting a fresh start with a new staff (Parachek), and a duo of talented freshmen (Caudill, Whiting).
Although Jack Velling and Michael Masunas are moving on, I would expect the tight end room to improve both statistically and via the eye test in 2026.
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