MSU's Harlon Barnett barely holds back his dislike of Michigan, per Mel Tucker's orders
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Michigan State's players and coaches were under strict orders this week to not engage in any trash talk or rivalry fodder ahead of the Spartans' upcoming matchup with bitter rival Michigan.
“I made it clear to the players, like in terms of talking to the media and things like that, we’re talking about our preparation, things that we can control and we’re not getting ahead of ourselves,” head coach Mel Tucker said. “… It’s gonna be enough hype before the game with the game itself. There’s no reason to add more to it than need be.”
To their credit, every representative that Michigan State presented to the media this week has fallen in line and adhered to their head coach's directive.
However, there was one guy who really seemed like he wanted to get a few words about the Wolverines off his chest — secondary coach Harlon Barnett.
Barnett, an MSU alum who played under former Spartan coach George Perles in the 1980s, was asked several questions about the rivals in Ann Arbor. He comedically side-step several of them, and gave deep, serious answers to others.
“What keeps running through my head is no billboard material, that’s what keeps running through my head," Barnett said with a big smile. "That’s just me to myself. So, you all got to be cool with the questions.”
Barnett was asked how the rivalry has changed over the years since he was a player, or since being hired by Dantonio in 2007 for his first stint as a coach at Michigan State.
Before speaking, Barnett loudly cleared his throat, perhaps to emphasize his response, or perhaps to choke back the actual words he'd like to say.
“It hasn’t really [changed], to be honest with you," Barnett replied. "The same talk has been talked, or not talked, or talked about from even ’07, to be honest with you. So, the mindset is the same in a lot of ways. The main thing is to go out, play hard and try to get a victory.”
Barnett was then asked if he thought the respect coming out of Ann Arbor for Michigan State had changed, given the fact that the Spartans have won 10 out of the last 14 meetings.
The secondary coach smiled, took a long pause, chuckled, and loudly, exaggeratedly cleared his throat again.
“I’ve been a Spartan a long time – since 1985," Barnett finally answered. "[This is the] first time that I can remember – I tell people this – I heard us mentioned this summer about they’ve got to beat us. First time. Unless you all know another time – first time. I thought that was pretty interesting.”
Barnett is referring to this past July’s Big Ten Media Days, at which Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh stated that beating Michigan State was one of the Wolverines four main goals heading into the 2022 season. Several U-M players reiterated that at Media Days as well.
Asked about his earliest memories and introduction to the Michigan-Michigan State rivalry, Barnett said he took his cue from George Perles.
“I remember Coach Perles, how he felt about [Michigan]," Barnett said. "I didn’t know it was like that when I first came here, but you learn pretty quickly. He, being a former Spartan himself and knowing the history and hearing all the different stories about how it all worked out and how it came to be...I give Coach Perles the credit, if you want to say credit, for having me feel the way I feel.”
Perles was noted as having once said that the Michigan-Michigan State rivalry was personal. That sentiment was reiterated by Dantonio during his tenure in East Lansing.
What makes the rivalry personal for Barnett?
“Man, I said, ‘No billboard material.’ I almost said something,” Barnett said, drawing laughter from the room.
He then folded his hands and bowed his head in a prayer-like motion, before replying: “Why is it personal to me? It’s just a good, friendly rivalry man” with a light, humorous expression on his face that screamed that his opinion was entirely different than his answer.
Finally, Barnett was asked what advice he would give to Michigan State's transfers and true freshmen who would be taking the field in this rivalry for the first time.
“Fun. Fun. It’s going to be fun," Barnett said. "Enjoy the experience. It’s going to be a lot of fun.
“It really is a great rivalry, and I tell people in the state when I’m going to high schools and stuff like that, it’s really good for the state. I think it’s a really great rivalry, it’s good for the state and I look forward to Saturday evening.”
It can be argued that Barnett's media availability was the best among assistant coaches this season. If his body language, facial expressions and guarded answers are any indication, the Spartans are bottling up all the emotion this week, and are ready to turn it loose on Saturday.
