The 10 most interesting things Michigan State coach Mel Tucker said at Big Ten Media Days
INDIANAPOLIS – While he didn’t field any questions about the “Barbie” movie or shrimp cocktail like some of his Big Ten contemporaries, Mel Tucker did offer some noteworthy comments during a day spent in front of microphones, cameras and reporters at Lucas Oil Stadium. In addition to a succession of TV and radio interviews, Tucker spent 60 minutes addressing reporters in group settings, first at the main stage lectern and later at a 45-minute breakout session.
It's talking season, but not for long, with MSU players reporting for camp next Wednesday and hitting the practice field for the first time the following day.
Here are the 10 most interesting quotes from Tucker on Wednesday at Big Ten Media Days:
TUCKER BELIEVES HE HAS HIS HEALTHIEST ROSTER YET
Tucker: “We have competition at every single position, and no doubt the most talent we've had top to bottom on our roster. We needed more quality depth on our roster, and we addressed that this out of season.”
That’s what you want to be hearing in Year 4 of a coaching staff. Yeah, it’s the kind of easy puffery that’s common this time of year, but there’s validity to Tucker’s statement. Obviously, the bar is the 2021 squad that, led by Kenneth Walker III, finished 11-2 and won the Peach Bowl. There were six future NFL Draft picks on that team (so far), including two top-50 picks in Walker and receiver Jayden Reed. The top-line talent was there, but that year’s November stretch showed how much weight the first-stringers were pulling. Injuries in the secondary helped Purdue pile up passing yards and hand MSU its first loss of the season, and Walker was dinged up and hardly played against Ohio State – not that he was likely to affect the outcome in that colossal mismatch. MSU produced three draft picks from the 5-7 2022 team, but depth was a concern again, as the team had to scale back practice intensity significantly in the final month due to the eight suspensions and several injuries.
Talent-wise, Tucker has brought in recruiting classes ranked 26th and 22nd nationally the past two cycles, yielding a combined 13 four-star prospects from the high school pipeline. The two classes signed before he arrived in East Lansing ranked 33rd and 46th, with six total four-stars. Of course, not all of those young players are ready to raise MSU’s floor right now, but some are, particularly in the defensive backfield and at receiver. MSU might not have a Day 2 NFL Draft pick again next spring, but collectively, the baseline of talent does appear to have risen.
Depth-wise, it’s hard to argue with Tucker. The defensive line has been bolstered significantly through the transfer portal – the Spartans can legitimately go six-deep at defensive tackle – there are several receivers desperate to cut into the rotation, leading rusher Jalen Berger will be challenged by two transfers with significant experience, they’ve added three transfer tight ends and the linebacker room is loaded with seasoning and different skill sets. MSU lost its best player at each level of the defense in Game 1 last year. This group is better-equipped to handle the expected attrition.
DT JALEN SAMI IS A BIG DEAL
Tucker: “He’s a good player. He’s a big body. He’s athletic. He’s a great guy. When he hit the portal, I mean there was literally some running in the hallway. Guys were running trying to get it done.”
Along with upgrading the talent pool and stacking depth, the third pillar of Tucker’s renovation of this program is getting bigger across the board. He emphasized that point several times Wednesday, and the most obvious example is the defensive line. It was already a promising haul in the winter when MSU gained transfer commitments from Florida State’s Jarrett Jackson (6-6, 300), Liberty’s Dre Butler (6-5, 300) and Texas A&M’s Tunmise Adeleye (6-4, 290). Then came the summer addition of Sami, listed at 6-foot-6, 330 pounds, who played for Tucker during his one year at Colorado.
Tucker told a story about Sami in 2019 making an impressive open-field tackle on a punt returner against Washington that saved the game for the Buffs, a 20-14 victory. Sami will bring seasoning, size, and apparently some underrated athleticism to a position that now looks like the deepest on the team. Returner Simeon Barrow has All-Big Ten potential, in my opinion, and fellow veterans Maverick Hansen and Derrick Harmon will have to be at their best to earn their snaps and fight off the big-bodied newcomers. I think the front seven will be the strongest aspect of the 2023 Spartans, and the ability to rotate several big, experienced, competent bodies and keep them all fresh will be a big reason why.
MSU WON’T LEAVE OUT SAM LEAVITT IN QB BATTLE
Tucker: “He’s gotta learn the offense, he’s gotta gain the trust of his teammates, he’s gotta be able to execute on a consistent basis better than the other two guys. Sam is a very, very confident guy, he’s got some high goals, and he was clear in recruiting that he wanted to come in and play as a freshman, and that’s his goal. We told him the competition was gonna be open for all of those guys, so we’ll see how it goes.”
MSU was conducting a three-man quarterback battle in the spring, and that’ll be the case again when training camp opens next week. The contenders will be different, though. Out goes Payton Thorne, with the two-year starter transferring to Auburn, and in comes Sam Leavitt, a true freshman and former four-star recruit who will get a fair shot at claiming the starting job, Tucker said.
Realistically, it’s hard to picture Leavitt coming in, without the benefit of spring ball, and overtaking both Noah Kim, who’s going into his fourth year, and Katin Houser, a redshirt freshman and former four-star recruit himself. If Leavitt emerges as the best choice in just a couple weeks of practice, that either means he was incredibly good and more advanced than anyone realized, or the two older players in front of him were unable to inspire much confidence. Regardless, it’s notable they consider it a three-person competition. I wonder how long it’ll stay that way once the practices tick away and reps become more valuable.
QB NOAH KIM HAS WHEELS
Tucker: “He's a winner. He's got a lot of arm talent. He's very poised. He's very athletic. He's one of the fastest players on our team. He's in the top-20 fastest players on our team.”
One other thing on quarterbacks. It’s unclear how this battle is going to pan out (Tucker was asked directly about Kim at the main stage and later spoke to all three contenders at his breakout session), but what we now know is Kim is apparently quicker than we’ve realized. Top-20 is impressive, if that’s accurate. I don’t have any reason to believe it’s not. Obviously, the first place my head goes is the quarterback run game, which was a club MSU mostly left in the bag last season to protect a less-than-100%-healthy Thorne. For a team that was poor in short-yardage situations, the threat of a mobile quarterback can give MSU a numbers advantage. I’m still not sure what to make of the offensive line, but if it’s leaky, Kim’s escapability will come in handy. Listed at 6-2, 185 pounds, though, MSU will have to be intentional about how many hits he’s exposed to.
KEON COLEMAN DEPARTURE A SIGN OF THE TIMES
TUCKER: “That was probably like the first time that Michigan State and our fans have really experienced the portal in that way, like, wow, what happened? What’s going on? But that’s how these other schools feel when we get players, and we get good players out of the portal, we’ve gotten good players out of the portal. That’s college football, that’s college basketball, that’s how it is. Guys are coming and going, and they're doing what’s best for them. All you can do is wish them the best. That’s all you can do, because it works both ways. I wish him the best. Guys are trying to make their way. They’re trying to put themselves in what they think is the best position for them to be successful to get to the next level so they can take care of their families. That’s all they talk about. We’ll just see how it goes.”
Tucker said he “wasn’t surprised at all” at former wide receiver Keon Coleman’s departure via the transfer portal. He wasn’t saying he suspected Coleman was itching to leave, just that abrupt departures like that – Coleman entered the portal on the last day undergraduates could do so, and wound up at Florida State – are increasingly common in this era of the sport.
The public did not share his reaction. No, the back-to-back bombshells of Coleman and Thorne entering the portal had the fan base rattled just as they were prepared to settle into summer. It’s good for Tucker to acknowledge that. Coleman was MSU’s best returning player, hands down, in my opinion, somebody who would’ve made life easier for whoever wins the quarterback job and a player you could count on to be a problem for every defense you line up against. If this new world of free transfers and NIL inducements means MSU is susceptible to losing a handful of its premier players every offseason, it’s incredibly hard to imagine how a program can make any progress.
A MORSEL OF INSIGHT INTO LB DARIUS SNOW’S RECOVERY
Tucker: “Darius had a long-term rehab. He had a significant injury. He’s been battling. You guys know him, he’s a sharp kid and he’s very determined, he loves football. He’s been battling hard to get back, and it’s gonna take a while, but hopefully we’ll get a chance to see him do more in fall camp and then we’ll assess him at that point.”
That’s the most detailed Tucker has been while commenting on Snow since the junior linebacker suffered a season-ending injury in the first half of last year’s opener against Western Michigan. He went on to say he has no expectation for what MSU will be able to get out of Snow in the near future, but added: “I know this: If anyone can make it back, it’s him.”
There’s not another player like Snow on MSU’s roster – a converted safety who bumped down to linebacker and made himself into a Game 1 starter. Had he remained healthy, I suspect he would’ve done quite a bit to shore up MSU’s lacking pass defense a year ago given his background in the secondary and the versatility he brings to the second level of the defense. I would expect we see Snow on the field at some point this year – on Thursday he released a video on social media showing him working out, jogging and cutting, and doing drill work – but it doesn’t sound like anybody truly knows how soon. MSU would be fine with Cal Haladay, Jacoby Windmon, Aaron Brule and freshman Jordan Hall manning the position, but none of them have Snow’s unique traits.
MSU-MICHIGAN GAME IS WHAT IT IS
Tucker: “I don’t know how you (rein it in). There’s not a day that’s gone by that I haven't heard something about that game. I mean every day of my life I hear about that game, so I don’t know how you rein that in. It just is what it is.”
As Tucker was seated for his 45-minute breakout session, news broke on social media that the MSU-Michigan game on Oct. 21 is expected to be a 7:30 p.m. kickoff airing on NBC, which would make it the first night game Spartan Stadium has hosted in the series. Tucker didn’t have much of a reaction to that report, but the topic opened the door to whether, on the heels of last year’s post-game altercations, the rivalry needs to be dialed down. In addition to the quote above, Tucker also shot down the idea of pausing the series to let the emotions cool off. His response to that suggestion: “No. That’s never gonna happen. That’s not even a reality. Why would we want to do that?” In speaking to his fan base, Tucker has hit the right notes regarding the rivalry during his time leading the program in East Lansing, and did so again Wednesday when he said “This is the biggest game of the year for us, and it’s always gonna be like that as long as I’m the coach here.”
NORTHWESTERN SCANDAL LOOMS OVER MEDIA DAYS
Tucker: “We have a hazing policy. It wasn’t like (I) have to double-check. We see our guys all the time. We have a large staff. We’ve got the 10 countable coaches, but we have the GAs, the analysts, the quality control guys, you’ve got the Darien Harrises of the world, the operations people, you’ve got the equipment people, you’ve got the nutrition people, you’ve got the trainers, you’ve got the strength staff. We’re surrounding these guys, so we know who we have on our team and what’s going on with our players.”
Northwestern’s head coach has never drawn such a crowd at this event. The fella occupying that role right now is interim coach David Braun, who just arrived in January from North Dakota State as the Wildcats’ new defensive coordinator before finding himself in the thick of the biggest story in the sport this summer – a hazing scandal that led to the firing of longtime head coach Pat Fitzgerald.
The allegations that took down a successful and beloved coach spurred several questions to players and coaches at other programs about how prevalent hazing is and how to ensure it’s not happening on their campuses. Tucker made a good point about how, in theory, it should be difficult for that kind of behavior to slip through the cracks. He said he’ll be reemphasizing the anti-hazing policy next week during the first team meeting of training camp.
SEVERAL OPTIONS, SKILL SETS IN THE RUNNING BACK ROOM
Tucker: “You look at it, Jordon Simmons is still here, he’s been playing since he was a freshman. Davion Primm is still there, he’s shown flashes in spring. And (Jalen) Berger, with his second year with us, is still there. And then you add (Jaren) Mangham, (Jalen) Barbarin and Nathan Carter, those are all good players. Mangham’s 6-3, 235 walking in the door. Barbarin ran a 10.3 100 meters in high school. Nathan Carter has played Power 5 football and has been very productive. He established himself as a dude immediately in the weight room, similar to what Ken Walker did. It’s super competitive in there. Guys are gonna have to compete to get on the field – they’re gonna have to compete for spots on special teams.”
Bringing back their leading rusher in Berger, and the other aforementioned returners, didn’t stop the Spartans from adding to their running back room this offseason. Tucker agreed with the idea that it’ll be the thickest competition he’s had in the backfield thus far. I suspect Berger is going to have his hands full trying to remain the primary ballcarrier. Carter has been very impressive to players and coaches since arriving in January, and Mangham brings a different skill set as a big back. Regardless of what’s said between now and Week 1, it’s practically impossible to regularly play three backs, so expect two to surge ahead and others to receive spot duty in specialized roles.
TIP OF THE CAP TO COACH PRIME
Tucker: “Prime has done a great job so far. I'm pulling for him and the Buffs to get that thing going again. He's got his own process that he's following, obviously, and I think he's going to be wildly successful there.”
Out-of-market media feel the need to ask Tucker every year about his use of the transfer portal, and his answers have always been consistent. This year’s event brought a new spin on it, as he was asked about Deion Sanders’ roster flip at Colorado, a level of turnover that makes Tucker’s look like nothing. Before launching into his usual response about using the portal to address immediate needs, he gave some props to “Coach Prime,” the man who occupies Tucker did for one season in 2019. Sanders’ magnetic personality, Hall of Fame pedigree, FCS-level coaching success and extreme reliance on transfers have made Colorado one of the most interesting programs of the offseason. It was cool to hear Tucker’s take on what’s going on in Boulder.
