Michigan State's Josiah Price doing whatever it takes to be elite TE

Josiah Price just wants to excel as Michigan State’s tight end.

If that means stealing routes from the pro players, like Jason Whitten and Rob Gronkowski, he’ll do it.

“I love studying those guys, breaking down their film and see what they do that makes them so good, see what routes their teams use them in, then bring it to my coaches and talk to them,” he said this week at the Big Ten meetings.

If that means finding opponents after a game and talking shop, picking their brains, it’s his plan.

And if that means crossing the lines of a rivalry, texting and talking back and forth with Michigan’s All-American Jake Butt, he’s willing to push his game forward.

“I talk to Jake a fair amount,” Price said. “We aren’t best friends, we don’t hang out all the time. But it’s a football relationship, I respect him a lot and think he’s a great player and I think he respects me the same way. I love looking out for tight ends. I always try to talk to them after games, get to know the fellow tight ends. Because it’s a unique position.”

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Entering his fifth year, Price has proven himself being on that high level. He was the third-team All-Big Ten tight end last year with 23 catches for 267 yards and could have his number leap this year with unproven wide receivers.

Price doesn’t need much advice finding the end zone, though, as he already ranks first among tight ends in MSU history with 16 touchdowns and seventh in school history in overall touchdowns.

But to reach another level, he has pushed himself this off-season.

“I’m always trying to do different stuff, whether it’s one-handed catches whether it’s doing certain other types of catches, whether it’s a different route trying to expand out playbook,” Price said. “It’s all summer stuff, but I’m not going to tell you all my secrets.”

Over his first four years out of Greentown, Ind., he’s shown that willingness to work,

He arrived at 235 pounds and now is approaching 260, MSU coach Mark Dantonio said.

It’s part of the evolution that comes with steady improvement and the offseason diligence.

Though the quarterback will change – Connor Cook led the Spartans for nearly all of Price’s career – he will need to be that comfort outlet for whoever takes over behind center.

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“Josiah’s going to have the same type of responsibilities,” Dantonio said. “We’ve played a lot of tight ends here. We’re going to play three to four a year and he’s been a lead guy. ... He’s been a high performer for us and should have a future at the next level.”

Improving his individual game will position him for the NFL, but much of this off-season has been embracing the mantle of leadership.

The senior leaders have defined the MSU program during the dominant six-year run and Price understand now it’s his turn.

This summer that has meant reaching out to the younger players on the team to watch television, go out to eat or just hang out. Finding the players that aren’t in his close circle – “Who is that kid? What does he do? What’s his family? All this kind of stuff” – to create that trust level.

That’s out of the building but in the practice facility it becomes more football-related, taking the young receivers and offensive linemen who are a few years in but haven’t played much and talking through the plays.

He waited his turn and now is prepared.

“I feel like I’ve always been a leader, in high school,” Price said. “But I also understand my role and when I came here as a freshman my role was not to lead. My role was to do whatever Max Bullough told me to do and to do it to the best of my ability. Now that role has changed, (senior) Riley (Bullough)’s role has changed. We are the Max Bulloughs, we are the Chris Normans, we are the Blake Treadwells. So it’s time for me to do those things. You do this and do it that way because that’s how we do it at Michigan State, no questions asked.”

Contact Mark Snyder at msnyder@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter at @mark__snyder.