Michigan State football TE Jack Velling receives major preseason honor

One of the players I’m most excited for this fall is Michigan State tight end Jack Velling. He is another impact transfer from Oregon State who is coming off a very impressive sophomore season with the Beavers.

And because of that season, Velling was just named to the preseason Mackey Award watch list.

The Mackey Award goes to the best tight end in the country at the end of the season, and Velling has a legit chance to win the award. Most of the time you don’t want to put that expectation on a player, but Velling has more than earned it.

Last season at Oregon State, Velling recorded 29 catches for 438 yards and eight touchdowns. Those eight touchdowns are what stand out the most because that led all tight ends in touchdown receptions last year. Velling was also a second-team All-Pac-12 selection last year which is a great honor as well.

There’s no denying that Velling will have to have an even better season if he’s going to win this award, but I think Michigan State’s offense sets him up for success. For starters, Velling and Aidan Chiles already have a strong connection on the field, so he very likely will be the target that QB1 is most comfortable with to start the season.

Then you also have to factor in that Michigan State doesn’t have a lot of proven receivers on the roster either. That tells me that Velling is probably the most reliable and potentially the best pass catcher on the roster too and should see a lot of balls thrown his way.

Lastly you can look at Michigan State’s running game which should help Velling as well. The Spartans have two elite running backs in Nate Carter and Kay’Ron Lynch-Adams who both should have good years this season. Improved offensive line play should help the running game this season as well. All of this matters for Velling and the passing game because defenses will have to stack the box to stop the run, which makes the passing game that much easier.

Time will tell if Velling wins this award or not, but he probably has the best chance of any player on Michigan State to win one of this major awards at the end of the season.