cfb zeitgeistZeitgeist
OFFSEASON · SUMMER 2026 · COMMITMENT SEASON
Heisman / Players / Jack Velling /Michigan State

Jack Velling

TE · Michigan State · Sr · #12

Below the discourse floor — the honest stats-only state.

359 REC YDS · 36 REC · 3 REC TD

2026 RETURNINGReturning to Michigan State for 2026

2026 Outlook

Returning to Michigan State for 2026

2026 Depth chart

Projected starter

Tight end · Michigan State

Returning around him

  • 69% of 2024 offensive production back (Solid continuity)
  • 2 Michigan State players drafted to NFL
  • Transfer portal: -18 net (28 in / 46 out)

2026 Award watch

No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)

Michigan State · Last season: 4-8 · Talent rank #38 · 2026 recruiting class #57

TE · MICHIGAN STATE · BIG TEN

Jack Velling

  • 4
  • #12
  • 6-5 | 245 lb
  • Seattle, WA

CFB Zeitgeist Score

60

Solid starter in the position cohort. Carried by rec yards at the 71st percentile.

Heisman Heat

#3260

<1% win probability

Fan Belief

Awaiting

Player-specific FI not yet ingested. Falls back to team mood below.

Respect Gap

Awaiting

Coming online with player-level FI.

Reality Gap

Awaiting

Coming online with player-level FI.

ACCOLADE PROBABILITY

Heisman

<1%

TOP TE AWARD

Mackey

CONSENSUS

All-American

Player Standing · 17 rungs

Tier 2 · Starter

R07 · Impact starter

Impact starter. Producing measurable value above replacement.

Not on team2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Career arc · Season-by-season Standing

3 seasons on the ladder

Peak: R09 All-Conference HM / 2nd team · 2025

2022

Oregon State · TE

2023

Oregon State · TE

2025

Michigan State · TE

R09 · All-Conference HM / 2nd team

Recognized

Development Trajectory · receiving yards

2022–2025
2812022
4382023
3592025

+28%

Up 28% from first season to most-recent.

Career Arc

HS
Recruit
★★★
#846 national
CFB
College
2 teams
2022–2025
NFL
NFL Draft
Not drafted (yet)

Identity & Role

The durable bio layer: position, size, hometown, and roster role.

PositionTE
Class4
Jersey12
Measurements6-5 | 245 lb
HometownSeattle, WA
Primary teamMichigan State

Recruiting Pedigree

How big the prospect was before college, and whether the later career arc beat that expectation.

Top pedigree 3-star No. 846 recruit
Composite rating 0.8667 HighSchool
Signed with -- 2022
Origin Seattle Prep School Seattle, WA, USA
Class Profile Context
2022 3-star | 0.8667 No. 846 recruit | HighSchool

Transfer Arc

Portal movement changes role, context, and perception. This keeps that path in one place.

Portal moves 0 No portal entry on file
Latest destination -- --
Transfer stars -- CFBD transfer rating context
Eligibility -- Transfer date TBD
Season Move Context
No transfer portal moves on file for this player.

Heisman Lens · 2024 Season · Final

Where the player landed at the end of the listed season — final nowcast rank, win/finalist/ballot probabilities, and the cleanest official Heisman placement on file.

HIGH CONFIDENCE· through week 16
Current nowcast#3260Latest modeled ballot order
Season forecast#3258Where the full season sim points
Win probability0.0%Chance to actually win the trophy
Finalist probability0.0%Chance to make the finalist tier
Ballot probability0.0%Chance to appear anywhere on a ballot
Best official finish--Best completed Heisman placement on file

Heisman Futures

Not yet listed on major futures markets.

Achievements

  • Program Benchmark 5.5% Program Benchmark Season leader for the program at the player's position across the headline volume metric (passing yards / rushing yards / receiving yards). Held by 5.5% of the 2025 pool. Team leader in receiving yards (359).

Selector Grid · 2025

AP
FWAA
AFCA
WCFF
SN
SI

NIL · Recruiting · NFL Draft

Market value, pedigree & pro outcome

Recruit stars

★★★☆☆

to —

Composite

0.8667

#846 national

Today’s Hot-Take

The Hot-Take engine fires when this player’s percentile profile crosses a defensible threshold (top 10% in a cohort, 100+ snap sample). When it’s quiet, the model is honoring its “must be defensible” rule.

Anti-Take

PENDING

The contrarian read fires when the rules-engine detects a stat that complicates the Hot-Take. Quiet here means the model hasn’t found a defensible counter yet — not that one doesn’t exist.

The Room on Jack Velling

Fan sentiment · Awaiting signal

The Room reads fan conversation around a player — who’s talking, what they believe, and how that shifts. It publishes once weekly volume rebuilds; for most players that’s in-season, when game-week chatter spikes.

Cohort divergence map

Cohort divergence reads how different fanbases talk about this player. Returns once weekly mentions clear the publish floor.

Rival Radar

How rival fanbases talk about Jack Velling

No rival-bucket mentions in the current season.

2025 Signature · 2025 season

Receiving TDs

3

count

All FBS WRs, min 20 receptions

National rank #222 of 531
Percentile vs All FBS WRs, min 20 receptions 58th

Why it matters

#222 of 531 All FBS WRs in receiving TDs — 3 TDs on 36 receptions.

Vs cohort

This player 3 (58th)

HIGH · n=36 cohort 531

  • Also strong
  • Receiving yards (total)#342 / 531
  • Yards per reception#419 / 531

Signature Moment

Week 4 at USC — 1 receiving_tds

Result L 31-45

The week the volume broke through — stacked 1 td at USC.

A 3-act season arc returns once this player has six or more games on the ledger.

Season Pace · Projection

Where the receiving totals stand

projecting to 13-game
Through 11g
359Rec yards
36Receptions
3Rec TDs
Per game
32.6Rec yards
3Receptions
0Rec TDs
Projected (13g)
424.3Rec yards
43Receptions
4Rec TDs

To hit 700-yard receiver (currently 359): needs 170.5/game over remaining 2.

To hit 1,000-yard receiver (currently 359): needs 320.5/game over remaining 2.

To hit 60-catch season (currently 36): needs 12/game over remaining 2.

To hit 80-catch season (currently 36): needs 22/game over remaining 2.

To hit 8 receiving TDs (currently 3): needs 2.5/game over remaining 2.

To hit 10 receiving TDs (currently 3): needs 3.5/game over remaining 2.

Why the honors trail matters

The fast read on the thing that makes this player more than a generic stat line.

The useful clue on this card is not just the Heisman rank, but the broader honors spine. Jack Velling already has 1 loaded recognition item, which helps distinguish a player who is merely productive from one who is already earning selector-level validation.

Current place #3260 0.0% win | 0.0% finalist
Role load 6.1% Overall usage share
Profile quirk Transfer path 0 portal moves

2025 Season · Final

Traditional stats first. Advanced context underneath.

Last season

TE season snapshot

2025 season snapshot | final

2025 season snapshot | finalData: CFBD player stats + local Heisman modelPeer context: same position + same level
Receptions 36 3 rec TD | #29/475 (94th pct)
Receiving yards 359 10.0 per catch | #51/475 (89th pct)
Scrimmage yards 359 Total offensive yardage | #51/475 (89th pct)
Player identity What kind of player is this?

30-second read

What kind of player is this?

Target magnet against FBS receiving peers.

Target magnet

2025 Season · Final

2025 season snapshot | final

Receiving

REC
36 94th
YDS
359 89th
YPR
10.0 54th
TD
3 91st

Game Log · Week-by-week

2025 season · 11 games

Box score · CFBD
WkOppRECYDSAVGTDLONGNote
Wk 1W 23-6vs Western Michigan133.003
Wk 3W 41-24vs Youngstown State67011.7023
Wk 4L 31-45@ USC111.011
Wk 6L 27-38@ Nebraska33712.3119
Wk 7L 13-38vs UCLA2168.009
Wk 8L 13-38@ Indiana4164.009
Wk 9L 20-31vs Michigan3268.7010
Wk 10L 20-23@ Minnesota22814.0016
Wk 12L 10-28vs Penn State166.006
Wk 13L 17-20@ Iowa88811.0021Season-high 88 yds
Wk 14W 38-28vs Maryland56813.6128
Total363598.5328
Season-by-season tables Career rows + per-season box score

Traditional history

Traditional Stats

Season rows up top, career context at the bottom.

Season rows Career row

Season context · Team result + system

2022Oregon State10-3HC: Jonathan Smith · Run-heavy
2023Oregon State8-5HC: Jonathan Smith · Run-leaning
2025Michigan State4-8HC: Jonathan Smith · Balanced
SeasonTeam
2025Michigan State3635910.03--
2023Oregon State2943815.18--
2022Oregon State1628117.63--
Career3 loaded seasons811,07813.314--
Advanced layer Usage, value, and context

Advanced metrics second

Advanced Metrics

Usage, value, and opponent-adjusted context.

Usage Value Context
Pass share

The tight end's share of the passing offense, which helps distinguish a featured receiving tight end from a secondary option.

Role share

A blended usage view that shows how often the offense flows through the tight end compared with other same-level peers.

Peer percentile

Every percentile is compared against players at the same position and level, so an FBS quarterback is judged against FBS quarterbacks, not the whole sport.

Traditional first

The top tables stick to the stats fans already know from broadcasts and box scores. Advanced context is pushed underneath instead of replacing the basics.

Usage 6.1% 11.6% pass-game share | #58/468 (88th pct)
Return yards 0 0 return TD
Touchdowns 3 Across offense and returns | #45/475 (91st pct)
Open full stat explorer
0 metrics visible Showing all metrics
Group Metric Value Rank Pct Why it matters
Receiving Receptions 36 #29/475 94th pct Volumevs FBS TE
Receiving Receiving yards 359 #51/475 89th pct Volumevs FBS TE
Receiving Receiving TD 3 #45/475 91st pct Scoringvs FBS TE
Receiving Yards / catch 10.0 #220/475 54th pct Efficiencyvs FBS TE
Usage Pass share 11.6% #58/468 88th pct Air-game usagevs FBS TE
Receiving Receiving LONG 28 #149/475 69th pct Metricvs FBS TE
Usage 1st-down usage 6.4% #36/468 93rd pct Early-down loadvs FBS TE
Usage 2nd-down usage 6.4% #54/468 89th pct Middle-down loadvs FBS TE
Usage Passing-down usage 6.3% #96/468 80th pct Known-passing sharevs FBS TE
Usage Role share 6.1% #47/468 90th pct Share of team offensevs FBS TE
Usage Standard-down usage 6.0% #40/468 92nd pct Base-situation sharevs FBS TE
Usage 3rd-down usage 5.4% #132/468 72nd pct Money-down loadvs FBS TE
Usage Rush share 0.0% #58/468 88th pct Ground-game usagevs FBS TE

Player Standing

Universal 17-step ladder. Tier pills below; accolade streams nested.

ALL-CONF HM

On-team2-deepStartingRecognizedEliteApex

ALL-CONF HM · Rung 9 of 16

Why he’s here

All-Conference honorable mention / 2nd team — the recognition has started.

What moves him up

A best-at-position run lifts to 1st team.

What moves him down

A back-end conference finish drops out of the honor list.

Accolade streams

StatusAwaiting tracker

The Mackey award tracker integrates per-week probability once a dedicated scraper for this award lands. Confirmed past winners and finalists for this player will surface here.

Splits · Per-game

2025 season · 11 games

Home/Road · Win/Loss · Season halves

Home vs Road

REC/gYDS/gYPRTD/g
Home6g3.031.58.50.2
Road5g3.634.08.50.4

Win vs Loss

REC/gYDS/gYPRTD/g
Wins3g4.047.09.40.3
Losses8g3.027.28.10.2

First half vs Second half

REC/gYDS/gYPRTD/g
Weeks 1-75g2.625.47.20.4
Weeks 8+6g3.838.79.50.2

Pocket and defense-quality (clean vs. pressure) splits are coming soon.

Savant · Box-rate percentiles

Where this profile ranks vs the TE cohort

60Solid starter
5 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: receptions (82nd).

Receptions#29 / 175 · 83rd pct
36rece
Rec yards#51 / 175 · 71st pct
359rece
Rec TDs#45 / 175 · 66th pct
3rece
Yards / catch#106 / 175 · 39th pct
10.0rece
Long catch#116 / 175 · 32nd pct
28rece

Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score rates.

Advanced Savant · TE · 2024

Percentile Card

Advanced opponent-adjusted percentile bars are coming soon for this player.

P4G5All FBS
EPA / dropback
awaiting
CPOE
awaiting
Success rate
awaiting
Explosive rate (20+)
awaiting
aDOT
awaiting
Deep-ball accuracy
awaiting
Pressure-to-sack
awaiting
3rd-down EPA
awaiting
Red-zone TD rate
awaiting
Play-action EPA
awaiting
Scramble EPA
awaiting
Turnover-worthy play rate
awaiting

Advanced Savant

Opponent-adjusted advanced metrics with a cohort filter.

Advanced opponent-adjusted metrics are coming soon for this player. Selected cohort: P4.

Peer Comparator · Fingerprint match

Three closest profiles by box-rate percentile

3 peers · 5 metrics
Jack VellingMichigan StateJoshua LongEastern Michigan· 96% simChamon MetayerArizona State· 93% simRichie AndersonFresno State· 91% sim
Receptions
83
Velling
86
Long
88
Metayer
72
Anderson
Rec yards
71
Velling
70
Long
75
Metayer
60
Anderson
Rec TDs
66
Velling
66
Long
80
Metayer
66
Anderson
Yards / catch
39
Velling
31
Long
37
Metayer
33
Anderson
Long catch
32
Velling
27
Long
27
Metayer
20
Anderson

Closest peers by overall box-score percentile profile at the same position.

Player DNA

The Complete TE

Dual-threat: blocks when needed, catches when needed. Coveted on both sides.

TE

His 2025 production profile sits closest to Anthony Landphere’s 2024 season.

Anthony Landphere

88%match

Memphis · 2024

All-AAC
#2

Tanner McLachlan

Arizona · 2022

NFL Rd 6
83%
#3

Joe Royer

Cincinnati · 2024

All-Big 12NFL Rd 5
80%
#4

Will Mallory

Miami · 2022

All-ACCNFL Rd 5
80%
#5

Luke Schoonmaker

Michigan · 2022

All-Big TenNFL Rd 2 · Pk 27
78%

Matches Anthony on

Height
EPA / play (adj)
Reception volume

Differs from Anthony on

Recruiting rating (higher)

Not enough data yet for this comparison.

As a senior, his production profile tracks closest to D'Andre Rogers's senior season at TCU (2025).

D'Andre Rogers

82%match

TCU · 2025

#2

Gavin Bartholomew

Pittsburgh · 2024

NFL Rd 6
81%
#3

Matthew Hibner

SMU · 2025

NFL Rd 4
81%
#4

Trey Knox

South Carolina · 2023

All-SEC
79%
#5

Jyrin Johnson

Bowling Green · 2025

All-MAC
76%

Matches D'Andre on

Total EPA (college ability)
Weight
Yards / reception

Supporting Cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2025 season

Head Coach

Jonathan Smith

Pass share

49.7%

378 pass / 382 run

Plays / game

63.3

12 games

OL sack rate (allowed)

11.2%

303 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Balanced.

Coaching Lineage · 2022–2025

2 coaches
2022
Mel Tucker
Michigan State
2023
Mel Tucker
Michigan State
2025
Jonathan Smith
Michigan State
era →

Coaching transition mid-career: Mel Tucker → Jonathan Smith. Worth noting in scheme + development context.

Bio · Recruiting · Transfer · Roster

Off-field context — switch tabs to drill into recruit profile, transfer arc, or roster timeline.

HometownSeattle, WA
Height6'5"
Weight245 lb
Class4
PositionTE
Jersey12

Trophy Case · Confirmed honors

What the selectors said

1 entries
🎖

ALL-CONFERENCE

All-Conf mention (2025)

All-Big Ten

Trophy Case · Detail

Every honor on the ledger, broken out by stream and selector.

All-Conference

1 all-conference honor

Conference-level recognition helps anchor whether a player is merely statistically loud or actually viewed as elite within his competitive lane.

Honors Timeline

Season-end distinction and week-by-week recognition on one timeline.

Season Honor Scope Team / Selector Context
2025 All-Big Ten all_conference Michigan State | Big Ten TE

Heisman By Year

Modeled rank and official finish by season.

Season Team Role Latest Model Forecast Win Finalist Official Finish Points Context
2024 Michigan State TE4 #3260 #3258 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W16 snapshot | Big Ten
2023 Oregon State TE4 #293 #333 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W19 snapshot | Pac-12
2022 Oregon State TE4 #440 #406 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W20 snapshot | Pac-12

Roster Timeline

Team, conference, and class by season.

Season Team Conference Pos Class Bio
2025 Michigan State Big Ten TE 4 No. 12 | 6-5 | 245 lb | Seattle, WA
2024 Michigan State Big Ten TE 4 No. 12 | 6-5 | 245 lb | Seattle, WA
2023 Oregon State Pac-12 TE 4 No. 12 | 6-5 | 245 lb | Seattle, WA
2022 Oregon State Pac-12 TE 4 No. 12 | 6-5 | 245 lb | Seattle, WA