Michigan State tight end Maliq Carr has shown flashes of being a great playmaker. At 6-foot-5, Carr is hard to miss while on the gridiron. Some of that is because of his size, but the other part of that is his athleticism and elusiveness with the ball in his hands.
However, he is still morphing fully into being a true tight end that is equally good with the ball and blocking off the ball.
Last season, Carr had 16 receptions for 209 yards and two touchdowns. He had the second most receiving yards out of any tight end on the MSU roster, only behind Daniel Barker.
While 2022 was a respectable campaign for Carr, he wants to improve on that in the fall.
“It was solid,” Carr said about his performance last season. “Not up to my standard, but it was solid.”
Carr is part of a rare club. He was a two-sport athlete at a major Division I university. Carr played basketball during the 2021-2022 season after the football season concluded. He did not play basketball after the 2022 football season, however, so his sole focus this offseason is football, and he is still learning the position.
“This is actually the first time I’ve got to spend time learning the position (in the offseason),” Carr said to the media after practice on Tuesday.
Carr said that he’s gotten to “learn the ins and outs of the position more” thanks to the spring practice time he’s gotten. Some of those ins and outs he’s spent more time perfecting include “pass blocking” and “getting off the ball and run blocking.”
It was not an easy thing to do for Carr to drop basketball and solely focus on football.
“It was hard to step away (from basketball),” Carr said.
Despite not being on Tom Izzo’s team, Carr still enjoys playing basketball when gets a chance to. He can be found at the intramural courts playing with his football teammates and his fellow MSU students. While he tries not to treat the pickup games like it's the NBA Finals, he loves putting up shots on the court.
Now that Carr isn’t playing basketball, he spent the winter in the weight room instead of the hardwood. He’s been able to sculpt his body. Carr said that he’s “lost fat” and “gained muscle” so far this offseason.
Before transferring to MSU prior to the 2021 season, Carr played wide receiver at Purdue. The transition from wide receiver to tight end might not be as easy as people think because of the multiple tasks a tight end has to master outside of route running. Carr said that he is really focusing a lot on pass blocking in the spring.
Injuries have also derailed Carr’s progress in the past. Carr had offseason surgery ahead of the 2021 season to repair a knee injury. One of Carr’s goals this season is to “stay healthy.”
With Barker gone, Carr is expected to be the leader of the tight end room. As a true leader does, he gave praise to his teammates, specifically naming transfers Tyneil Hopper and Jaylan Franklin.
“They’re all playing really good,” Carr said the tight ends.
Outside of talent and execution, chemistry is critical within a position group. That doesn’t seem to be a problem with the Spartans’ tight end room.
“Everybody gets along perfectly fine,” Carr said. “This is probably the most close-knitted team we’ve had.”