Oregon Ducks football summer preview: 3 key Michigan State players to watch
By Ethan Lee
We’ve got plenty of time between now and the midpoint of the 2024 Oregon football season, but that doesn’t mean we can’t start learning about some of the Ducks’ foes this year. As the Oregon football team will certainly do some scouting ahead of time, we might as well do a little looking ahead as well.
And this time we’re going to examine the Michigan State Spartans. So, for the Oregon football fans who don’t already know much about Michigan State and who the Spartans are on the field, now is a great chance to learn a little about some key players on their roster.
Here are three Michigan State players that Oregon Ducks fans should be aware of ahead of when these two teams meet at Autzen Stadium this fall.
No. 1: Nate Carter - Running back
Michigan State was a mess last season, but Nate Carter was a solid focal point for the Spartans’ offense. He wasn’t perfect, but he was consistent and managed to run for just shy of 800 yards in his first season with the Spartans.
To be exact, Carter ran for 798 yards on 185 carries. He ended up scoring four touchdowns on the ground and had a total of 901 all-purpose yards. He only averaged 66.5 yards per game, but if Michigan State is able to build a cohesive offensive unit around him, then maybe we see Carter really take off in 2024.
No. 2: Dillon Tatum - Defensive back
While he didn’t get to play an entire season back in 2023, junior defensive back Dillon Tatum definitely demonstrated plenty of potential for the Michigan State Spartans. He only played nine games due to injury issues, but Tatum looked like a force in the Spartans’ secondary as he broke up seven passes last season.
To go right along with that, Tatum also managed to record 45 tackles as well as 2.5 tackles for loss.If he can stay fully healthy this season, there’s a very real chance that we see Tatum become a problem for opposing passing attacks.
No. 3: Jack Velling - Tight end
Like his head coach, Jack Velling used to be a proven contributor for the Oregon State Beavers. And like his head coach, Velling ended up in East Lansing. As he transferred to Michigan State from Oregon State, has already shown that he can be a solid, routinely good pass catching threat for his offense.
During the 2023 Oregon State football season, Velling managed to show just how much of a scoring threat he could be as he caught 29 passes for 438 yards and eight touchdowns. Equally impressive is the fact that Velling averaged 15.1 yards per catch. This man is a tough matchup and he’ll give plenty of defensive coordinators a headache. Here’s to hoping that’s not an issue for the Oregon defense this season.