Michigan State football coaches "surprised" by sophomore TE Michael Masunas

Some interesting names have been thrown around during Michigan State football's fall camp as potential breakout candidates and one has been more surprising than most.

We've heard the usual candidates like Nick Marsh, Jaron Glover, Ed Woods, and Brady Pretzlaff but there's one guy who has been shockingly standing out: Michael Masunas.

This isn't a total surprise because it always felt like he had potential, but after an injury last season and two years in the program without cracking the two-deep, it was easy to forget about him. Plus, Jack Velling came into the program and will be the starter and many are also excited about redshirt freshman Brennan Paracheck.

But keep an eye on Masunas, says SpartanMag's Jim Comparoni.

The 6-foot-5, 260-pound tight end from Arizona has been flying under the radar all offseason and he's impressed new tight ends coach Brian Wozniak who said he had a strong spring and is following that up with an even better fall. He looks like a big-bodied tight end who can both block and make plays in the passing game and he might just shoot up the depth chart.

According to Comparoni, there were about a dozen NFL coaches at Michigan State's practice checking out the tight ends and Masunas stood out almost as much as Velling.

While many believed that the tight end room was already solid with Velling and Paracheck leading the way, it seems as if Masunas even has some NFL potential and with coaching from Jonathan Smith and Wozniak, there's a good chance we could see him playing on Sundays in the near future.

So if you're looking for an under-the-radar breakout candidate, remember the name Michael Masunas.