Michigan State football has wrapped up spring ball, and tight end coach Brian Wozniak and tight end Michael Masunas feel confident in what they have seen. They both emphasized the importance of fine-tuning the little details, from proper foot placement to red zone execution.

“It’s been a lot about details,” Masunas said. “You know, we’ve all been in the offense for about a year now ... but now it’s like we’ve all been through it and now it’s time to get the smaller details, get the right footsteps, right placement and just fine-tuning the details so we can all elevate our game.”

Masunas faced a season-ending shoulder injury last fall, but reflected on his time sidelined, viewing it as an opportunity where he was able to take a step back from the game and look at it from a coach's perspective. Masunas spent his time studying film and sitting in on meetings.

“I was just in the meetings all day,” Masunas said. “I’d go do my lifts and try to get to practice as much as I can, so I could just continue to see it and then I could see how those defenses I’m going to play next year are playing, so I could have those mental reps.”

Now, being back on the field, Masunas is embracing every rep with a new perspective and excitement after waiting to get back.

“It feels awesome being back,” Masunas said. “Just waiting and seeing my guys play. I want to be out there, I want to be playing ... it feels good to finally be out there and back with the guys.”

Coach Wozniak has noticed Masunas’s eagerness to get back on the field and the work he put in during his injured season. He notes that although the injury hurt Michigan State, it had some positives, including letting Masunas sit back, absorb, and diagnose the offense as a whole.

“I put him in charge of tutoring a couple of the young guys throughout the season,” Wozniak said. “So it was nice for him to take that role.”

Wozniak is forming a culture among the tight end group that is grounded in development, toughness, and the little details. That belief in development has also shaped the leadership structure in the tight end room and Wozniak points to Masunas again, but also tight end Jack Velling and how they have helped the younger guys.

“Kind of just pushing those young guys,” Wozniak said. “Seeing Wyatt Hook push himself, Charlie Baker, Jaxson Wilson. That’s kind of what we wanted to do. We wanted to find a way to make those guys push themselves, build dependable depth. Then you got Michael and Jack running around like ‘Hey this is what it is supposed to be.’ So it’s good for those young guys to see that.”

Masunas was also quick to praise Velling’s leadership abilities and the way he has embraced a leadership role over spring practices. With three years of experience, Velling has become a vocal and active presence on the field.

“He’s definitely stepped up as a leader in a big way,” Masunas said about Velling. “Now getting onto the field, coaching people up out there, just cause he knows it more, so now he’s helping other people get the right alignment and just being a coach on the field.”

Masunas prefers to take a more reserved leadership style, noting that he prefers to coach some of the young guys one-on-one by pulling players aside to give them corrections.

“I try to be more of a one-on-one leader, take them to the side,” Masunas said. "I don’t want to be making fun of them in front of everybody. I like to just post them up and be like, ‘Hey maybe be a little wider on this,’ or just do some simple things here and there.”

Despite Masunas and Velling getting mentioned as core leaders, Masunas says that leadership within their group is coming from all different directions. Every day somebody steps up. Some days it is Velling, while other days Masunas take it on, but Masunas makes it clear that different guys each day are helping each other out.