Inside Look At Mel Tucker's Coaching Style, New Michigan State Coach
With the Mel Tucker era at Michigan State officially underway at Michigan State, many wonder what they can expect from the Spartan football program moving forward.
And with plenty left to be figured out between Tucker’s coaching staff and the offensive and defensive schemes that he will install in East Lansing, it remains to be seen what the Spartans will look like next fall.
But at his introductory press conference on Wednesday night, Tucker said that his Michigan State teams will be both physically and mentally tough, which the new Spartan head coach cited as staples of the Spartan football program.
“We'll be best conditioned, and that's the foundation of our program, our program is built in the weight room,” he said. “We will play with great technique and fundamentals, we'll play smart, we don't beat ourselves. That's the goal. We'll play fast on both sides of the ball and special teams. Players play fast when they know what they are doing. Last but not least, we'll play physical football. That's really the name of the game and that's what Michigan State Football has always been about. Hard-nosed physical football.”
In Tucker’s one year as head coach at Colorado, the Buffaloes ran a 3-4 defensive scheme, but it is not yet known what Michigan State’s defense will look like schematically under the 48-year old head coach as he will begin building his coaching staff over the course of the coming days and weeks.
On Thursday night, reports said that Tucker was not expected to retain any of Michigan State’s assistants from the 2019 season.
Before addressing the media on Wednesday night, Tucker first met the Michigan State football team and had the opportunity to talk to the current players and said his message was one that preached being accountable with one another and playing with a high effort level.
“The message, kind of in a nutshell, is that we are all in this thing together,” he said. “I have your back, you know, and we're going to support you, myself and my staff. It's not going to be easy, we're going to work really hard. We're going to have a culture of accountability, a sense of urgency, attention to detail, unselfishness. You know, relentless attitude, competition, and it's going to be worth it. It's going to be worth it.”
In his just one year at Colorado, Tucker made a sizable impact and while the Buffaloes finished just 5-7 in 2019, there was a growing amount of excitement about the football program moving forward.
Now that Tucker is leading the Spartan football program, Tucker will look to bring that same level of excitement into the Michigan State fan base after disappointing seasons in recent years had seen the interest level decrease.
Tucker told reporters on Wednesday that he intends on building the Michigan State football on integrity and accountability and feels the program has plenty to prove.
“I promise you that we will do everything to prepare, practice and play relentless and accountable football with toughness and integrity - we will do that,” he said. “We have much to live up to and much to prove and I believe the time is right now. The time is now. Gratitude, responsibility and loving Spartan Football.”
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