Michigan State Football: Mel Tucker on Second Scrimmage, Finishing Spring Ball
EAST LANSING – Michigan State football held its second spring scrimmage Tuesday morning.
Afterward, head coach Mel Tucker emphasized fundamentals and "marginal gains."
"You take all of the little details that you have to do, all the things that you have to execute, all the different techniques whether that's footwork, hand placement, or it's reading a defense, throwing a ball to the open man, checking a play … we just gotta get 1% better every day," said Tucker. "Everyone get 1% better every day, and then that's when you see significant improvements on a daily basis.
"That's how we're trending. Ten practices in, I feel like we've come a long way. We want to finish out the spring strong and then have a really, really strong summer program."
Last year, Tucker and co. missed out on spring practice due to the pandemic, but the Spartans have taken advantage of their opportunities in 2021. However, with three traditional practices remaining, there's still work to be done.
"The spring is really a time of technique and fundamentals and doing simple better. You can't get bored with the fundamentals. That's the foundation of everything that we do," Tucker said. "That's how you build your team. That's how you are able to sustain. If you get off track, that's how you're able to self-correct and get back on track because you do have a basis of the technique and fundamentals ... that is the focus."
The intensity is increasing; as players continue to compete at every position, Tucker is noticing a change on the field.
"(It was) much louder, a lot more guys talking. There was two-way communication all over the field, and that really shows you that guys have more confidence in what they're doing, and they understand the scheme," said Tucker. "That's a really good sign because when you know what to do, and you have confidence, you play a lot faster, and when you play faster, you play more physical."
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