Michigan State's Tucker Believes in Discipline, Not Taunting
East Lansing, MI – It shouldn't come as a surprise, but Michigan and Michigan State don't like each other.
It's only natural; any good rivalry comes with both sides of the aisle having a high level of disdain for one another.
Occasionally, it goes too far.
Whether it's comments being made on social media, in press conferences, getting physical once the play is over with, or things said on-field – it happens, especially in Michigan-Michigan State games.
In the last few seasons, trash-talking and taunting returned.
Three years ago, Mark Dantonio and Jim Harbaugh appeared to join in, throwing their own jabs.
At the time, Michigan State finished 9-3 (7-2), one win better than its in-state rival, having beaten them in Ann Arbor on Oct. 7, 2017, yet the Spartans were projected to compete in a less prestigious bowl than U-M.
When asked about it, Dantonio responded with this:
"I just look at it as an opportunity to play in the Holiday Bowl right now. The records are what they are. I'll just continue to concentrate on beating Michigan, let things sort of sort out."
Harbaugh fired back on Twitter:
"Saw Coach D comments on continuing to 'focus' on how 'he' can beat Michigan. Congrats on turning around a 3-9 team plagued with off-field issues. Good for BIG to have him back."
Following a 21-7 victory for the Wolverines in 2018, DL Chase Winovich rested on his laurels, reaching in to his bag of insults and finding an old classic.
"We knew they couldn't hang with us," Winovich said. "We did what we had to do, and sometimes your little brother starts acting up, and you just gotta put him in place. They tried; they gave it their best; it just wasn't enough."
And around and around we go.
But not last week.
Not with Mel Tucker leading the way.
"Discipline is critical … it's doing what you're supposed to do; when you're supposed to do it, the way you're supposed to do it and understand why it's important to do it that way," said Tucker.
He maintains it's such an important skill when building a successful program; the first-year Spartan head coach shows MSU good and bad examples of discipline.
"I believe that discipline is 85% anticipation," Tucker said. "So, we try to anticipate as coaches situations that could come up in the game and proactively educate our players on those situations ... I'm not a believer in taunting.
"We tell our players do not talk to the opponent. Your actions speak so loudly that I can't hear what you are saying. There's no need to talk to the opponent. There's no need to taunt. That's not part of how the game is meant to be played. That's not how we are going to play football here."
Senior linebacker Antjuan Simmons bought into Tucker's message and didn't say much about how he felt towards Michigan before kickoff.
"They're them, and we are who we are, you know what I'm saying. I ain't going to say too much, but they are who they are," said Simmons. "They are over there. We are who we are, and we're over here ... that's just how I look at it without really getting too far into it."
Tucker also doesn't want to see his players talking about the opposing team unless interviewed by the media.
"There's nothing to say about an upcoming opponent on social media. There's nothing to say," Tucker said. "There's nothing to talk about ... obviously, we want to show respect for our opponents and their coaching staff. That's what we talk about; that's our standard."
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