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Jay Johnson on his Relationship with Mel Tucker

Jay Johnson describes his relationship with Mel Tucker. He had the opportunity to work with Tucker for two years at Georgia before becoming his OC at Colorado.

Jay Johnson worked with the new Spartan head coach, Mel Tucker, for two years at Georgia before becoming the offensive coordinator at Colorado last season.

Johnson described their relationship, calling it a "natural fit for his personality and how he approaches things." He believes Tucker was comfortable with how he operated as a coach.

"You know, it was kind of interesting. Mel was obviously on the defensive side, and I was on the offensive side, so I don't know that we saw each other a ton during the day except for on the practice field, but I think just the way we kind of both went about our business," said Johnson. "There were a lot of similarities, and I think he sensed that, and I sensed that. I think he saw how I operated in different situations, and I think he was very comfortable with that and so that's how I think we got to be where we're at today."

One of Johnson's reasons for coming to Michigan State was Mel Tucker; he saw firsthand the progress they made together at Colorado and said it was a "no-brainer" for him to follow Tucker to East Lansing.

"Another huge point for me was Coach Tucker. I was fortunate to be with him at Georgia, and then he had me join him in Colorado, and he's very, very real," Johnson said. "That was important to me, with my family and all those things and to see the strides we had made in just a short time at Colorado; really was excited to see what he would do in this situation."

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