With the beginning of March Madness, it’s easy to forget that spring football practice has started across the country. After weeks of winter conditioning, new coach Pat Fitzgerald and Michigan State began their spring campaign on Tuesday, March 17. The Spartans’ spring practice schedule will culminate with a Spring Showcase on Saturday April 18 in Spartan Stadium.
While spring workouts were just getting underway, Michigan State also hosted NFL scouts, coaches, and general managers for their Pro Day
yesterday. This is an opportunity for MSU draft prospects to showcase their skills prior to the 2026 NFL Draft, which takes place April 23-25 in Pittsburgh.
Many of the Spartans departing seniors were scheduled to take part in Pro Day but key draft prospects included:
- Punter Ryan Eckley. One of only two Spartans invited to the 2026 NFL Draft Combine, Eckley finished his career at MSU a 47.6 yard average per punt. In 2025, he led the nation with a 48.5 yard average, had 23 punts of over 50 yards, and had 20 kicks downed inside the 20 yard line.
- Center Matt Gulbin. The other Spartan combine invitee, Gulbin transferred to MSU from Wake Forest and finished as the highest graded centers in the country according to Pro Football Focus. Gulbin was credited with giving up just two sacks and five total pressures in 2025 according to PFF.
- Tight End Jack Velling. After following former coach Jonathan Smith from Oregon State to MSU, Velling served as a captain for the Spartans and arguably entered Pro Day with the most to gain from a good workout. Velling caught 72 passes for 770 yards in his two seasons with the Spartans, with about half of his catches in 2025 producing a first down.
- Wide Receiver Omari Kelly. After transferring from Middle Tennessee State, Kelly became one of the top options and deep threat for quarterbacks Aidan Chiles and Alessio Milivojevic. Kelly had 47 receptions for 626 yards (13.3 ypc) and two touchdowns in 2025. Kelly also led the team with 809 all purpose yards and was an honorable mention All Big Ten awardee.
Pro Days generally consist of measurement (height, weight, wing span, etc.), weight room testing, on-field drills, and position-specific workouts.
It’s proving difficult to find any verifiable results from yesterday’s workouts but the MSU website linked above indicates that Central Michigan quarterback Joe Labas threw passes to Velling, Kelly, and running back Elijah Tau-Tolliver during their workouts.
Gulbin, who didn’t participate in on-field drills at the NFL Combine after suffering an injury that kept him out of the Spartans’ season-finale against Maryland, was a full participant at Pro Day.
Defensive back Devyn Cromwell produced an 11 foot, 3 inch broad jump and a 40.5 inch vertical jump which would have ranked him first and third in those two events among safeties at the 2026 Combine.
