Michigan State Spartans Football Notes: Jack Velling Could Play

East Lansing — Aidan Chiles was blamed for the pass that led to tight end Jack Velling’s scary injury Saturday night against Purdue.

After misreading Purdue safety Dillon Theineman, Chiles threw a pass that turned the safety Velling’s back. The tight end took a serious hit and was sent to the hospital for evaluation, but he was released and participated in team activities the next day. The scene still weighed on his quarterback, as Chiles sat in a postgame press conference and immediately blamed himself for the situation.

“I feel like I set him up,” Chiles said Saturday. “So I really take responsibility for that, for the fact that he was injured. I feel like I tried to distract security, security didn’t bite me, I saw Jack open up, and it was a fatal bullet. And it’s my fault.

On Monday afternoon, Michigan State coach Jonathan Smith provided an update on Velling’s status, saying he has passed all tests thus far and will be re-evaluated to play later this week . That’s a positive sign for the tight end’s availability, even if it’s unclear if he can play.

Looking at this injury through Chiles’ prism, it’s a strong sign of his leadership immediately taking responsibility. Hard on himself or just in his reproaches, he knows that he is responsible for the passes he throws and their impact on the health of his teammates.

“I appreciate him looking out for his teammates,” Smith said. “And in this position, you want to do that. But it’s a bang-bang play. …Those things, you don’t want them to happen en masse, but it’s a physical game and that’s what happened.

Leadership like that from a freshman in sophomore year is encouraging, as is Velling’s relative health. These are the unfortunate situations in football where a player is seriously injured. Going through them emotionally as a teammate is also an important part of the consequences.

Bowl games still count for rookies

Gone are the days when football recruits were wooed by fancy facilities and bowling stations. Depending on who you ask, those innocent days of the NCAA never really existed anyway.

But these days, with NIL checks and branding opportunities pushed to the forefront of recruiting – a $10 million quarterback, anyone? – it’s surprising that bowl games matter for the future of football. But according to Smith, that’s still the case.

“For us individually in the first year, it could show progress and direction and momentum moving forward,” Smith said. “You get more time with your current team and I think that helps tremendously with recruiting. It means a lot to be able to continue to work together with this group; it helps lay the foundation for the next groups to come.”

It would indeed be a sign of confidence that Smith and his freshman team are on track to make a bowl game. This gives the Spartans a chance to win a season and a little bragging rights in the playoffs. If we look at a program’s first year as a benchmark, then a bowl game being the absolute low of a season is a pretty good deal.

Many recruits may be interested in other facets of the programs, particularly ongoing developments in revenue sharing and their potential treatment as employees of the universities for which they play. But for coaches, bowl games always count, even if they are not central.

MSU struggles to win third quarter

This season, the Spartans were outscored 80-23 in the third quarter. It’s a glaring statistic and one that concerns coaches.

“I gave our coaches a hard time,” Smith said with a smile. “Like, ‘What kind of halftime adjustments are we doing here?’ » »

Apparently the bad ones. And while every game has its context, that stat is not a glowing endorsement of Michigan State’s overall ability to adjust.

This data shows a general trend that opponents are quicker to successfully adapt than Michigan State. In 11 games, she dominated her opponents 62-41 in the first quarter and 142-122 in the first half. In the fourth quarter, the differential is 70-53. The more time opponents have to adapt, the more they gain the upper hand.

But the third trimester particularly stands out for the inequality of the difference. This is something the Spartans want to address.

“We looked at that a few weeks ago,” Smith said when asked about the differential. “…We talked about maybe adjusting some things at halftime, communication-wise or getting them ready. Report it to the group.

The onus is primarily on the coaches to put their players in a position to succeed, and they’ll want to do that with the season on the line Saturday against Rutgers. Too much hinges on the outcome of the game to risk bad adjustments that leave Michigan State a step behind. If ever there was a week for a breakthrough, this is it.

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@ConnorEaregood