Jack Velling

#12 · TE · Sr. · Michigan State6′5″ · 245 lb · Seattle, WA · Seattle Prep

Jack Velling is a tight end who has not played this season; the last season with a stat line was 2025, at Michigan State.

Velling shows up in the passing game from any alignment. Came to Michigan State by way of Oregon State. First career honor, 2025: All-Big Ten. On tape: 88 receiving yards and 8 receptions against Iowa, Week 13, 2025.

Style of play

Play style

No single go-to route — the receiving numbers show up inline and split out alike.

Similar players

Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.

Anthony LandphereMemphis · 2024 · 85% season match
Tanner McLachlanArizona · 2022 · 83% season match
Houston ThomasUTSA · 2025 · 82% season match
Joe RoyerCincinnati · 2024 · 81% season match
Matthew HibnerSMU · 2025 · 74% season match

Where to follow

Career stats

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Season	Team
2025	Michigan State	36	359	10.0	3	28
2024	Michigan State	36	411	11.4	1	34
2023	Oregon State	29	438	15.1	8	41
2022	Oregon State	16	281	17.6	3	60
Career		117	1,489	12.7	15	60

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2025 season · 11 games

Box score · CFBD

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Wk	Opp	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG	Note
Wk 1	W 23-6vs Western Michigan	1	3	3.0	0	3
Wk 3	W 41-24vs Youngstown State	6	70	11.7	0	23
Wk 4	L 31-45@ No. 25 USC	1	1	1.0	1	1
Wk 6	L 27-38@ Nebraska	3	37	12.3	1	19
Wk 7	L 13-38vs UCLA	2	16	8.0	0	9
Wk 8	L 13-38@ No. 3 Indiana	4	16	4.0	0	9
Wk 9	L 20-31vs No. 25 Michigan	3	26	8.7	0	10
Wk 10	L 20-23@ Minnesota	2	28	14.0	0	16
Wk 12	L 10-28vs Penn State	1	6	6.0	0	6
Wk 13	L 17-20@ Iowa	8	88	11.0	0	21	Season-high 88 yds
Wk 14	W 38-28vs Maryland	5	68	13.6	1	28
Total		36	359	10.0	3	28

Signature game

Week 13 · 2025

L 17-20

at Iowa

8 rec · 88 yds

With A. Milivojevic — 255 yds · 2 TD · 1 INT · QBR 68.6 · R. Eckley — 42.8 yards per punt · 6 punts · 1 inside the 20

Signature plays

The plays that mattered most

Week 10 · Minnesota · 3rd and 7 · Q1 · EPA +2.56Milivojevic to Velling: a 16-yard pass.
Week 14 · Maryland · 2nd and 5 · Q2 · EPA +2.47Milivojevic to Velling: a 9-yard touchdown pass.
Week 6 · Nebraska · 2nd and 10 · Q4 · EPA +2.47Alessio Milivojevic pass complete to Jack Velling for 16 yds to the NEB 44 for a
Week 4 · USC · 3rd and 1 · Q3 · EPA +2.45Aidan Chiles pass complete to Jack Velling for 1 yd for a TD (Martin Connington KICK)
Week 3 · Youngstown State · 2nd and 10 · Q2 · EPA +2.18Aidan Chiles pass complete to Jack Velling for 23 yds to the YSU 1 for a
Week 6 · Nebraska · 2nd and 2 · Q2 · EPA +2.07Alessio Milivojevic pass complete to Jack Velling for 2 yds for a TD (Martin Connington KICK)

4 more plays

Week 3 · Youngstown State · 3rd and 7 · Q2 · EPA +1.79Aidan Chiles pass complete to Jack Velling for 18 yds to the YSU 19 for a
Week 13 · Iowa · 1st and 10 · Q2 · EPA +1.77Milivojevic to Velling: a 21-yard pass.
Week 13 · Iowa · 2nd and 12 · Q3 · EPA +1.55Milivojevic to Velling: an 11-yard pass.
Week 9 · Michigan · 2nd and 9 · Q3 · EPA +1.52Chiles to Velling: a 10-yard pass.

Receiving profile

Receiver profile · Targets, catch rate, and throw depth

How often he's targeted, and how well it works

36 rec · 359 yds · 3 TD

36 of 36 receptions matched to play-by-play

22 of 45 targets charted for true throw depth

Targets

4513% of team targets

Catch rate

80%36 of 45 targets

Behind LOS · Negative air yds

5% of targets (1)

100%catch rate

Air -3.0 · YAC 4.0 avg

Short · 0–9 air yds

68% of targets (15)

93%catch rate

Air 4.0 · YAC 5.2 avg

Middle · 10–19 air yds

23% of targets (5)

60%catch rate

Air 15.2 · YAC 3.7 avg

Deep · 20+ air yds

5% of targets (1)

100%catch rate

Air 21.0 · YAC 0.0 avg

80% catch rate on 45 targets · 13% of the team's targets.

Situational

Situational · Share of own targets (PBP, 2025)

Third-down role

16%7 of his 43 targets came on third down · TE median is 22%

Teams and coaches

2022Oregon State10-3HC: Jonathan Smith · Run-heavy

2023Oregon State8-5HC: Jonathan Smith · Run-leaning

2024Michigan State5-7HC: Jonathan Smith · Balanced, slow tempo

2025Michigan State4-8HC: Jonathan Smith · Balanced

Our ratings

CFB Zeitgeist Score 60 (#44 of 156). Show the ratings

Where this profile ranks vs the TE cohort

Box-score + play-by-play EPA percentiles · 2025 season

60Quality starter #44 of 156 · 2025?

10 metrics · season cumulative

2025 score: the 2026 sample is not big enough yet. The rows below are 2026 so far. Elite: catch rate (90th percentile). Strength: receptions (83rd percentile).

Real play-by-play efficiency

Catch rate#79 / 798 · 90th pct

81.4%

TD rate#178 / 798 · 78th pct

4.7%

EPA / target#209 / 798 · 74th pct

0.57

Explosive rate#540 / 798 · 32nd pct

7.0%

Yards / catch#557 / 798 · 30th pct

10.0

Box-score rates (5)

Receptions#29 / 175 · 83rd pct

Rec yards#51 / 175 · 71st pct

359

Rec TDs#45 / 175 · 66th pct

Yards / catch#106 / 175 · 39th pct

10.0

Long catch#116 / 175 · 32nd pct

Season trend

Last seasonThis season

EPA / target

33rd → 74th percentile

Explosive rate

51st → 32nd percentile

Catch rate

39th → 90th percentile

TD rate

18th → 78th percentile

Yards / catch

43rd → 30th percentile

Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps in 2025. Most bars are box-score rates; EPA / success-rate bars are computed from real play-by-play (offense only — no defensive EPA model exists yet).

Splits

Home and road splits, scheme and staff

Splits · Per-game

2025 season · 11 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Home5g	2.6	24.2	7.5	0.0
Road5g	3.6	34.0	8.5	0.4

First half vs Second half

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Weeks 1-75g	2.6	25.4	7.2	0.4
Weeks 8+6g	3.8	38.7	9.5	0.2

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

Team sack rate

8.0%

424 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Balanced.

Awards

Player standing · 2025

All-Conference

Picked for an all-conference team by at least one selector.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score

60 · #44 of 156 TEs · 2025

Three-star recruit. Now #44 at the position.

2026 outlook

In the mix to repeat All-Big Ten

Based on 2025: #8 of 26 Big Ten TEs

How the All-Big Ten base rate is computed

A base rate for the rank, not a forecast of this player: 35% of returning players who ranked #4–10 at their position in their conference made an all-conference team the next season (95% confidence interval 31–38%).