Mel Tucker's Track Record Could Create Problems for OSU
Mel Tucker has a clear path to rebuilding Michigan State into the dangerous program it was during Mark Dantonio's three best seasons, and it's a path he's not only followed before, but a trail he blazed.
Tucker, who leaves Colorado after one season to take over in East Lansing, is a Cleveland native who enters the Big Ten East with a track record of recruiting the type of talent from Northeast Ohio that could make the Spartans a force.
Ohio State enjoyed recruiting dominance in that fertile area during Jim Tressel's 10 seasons and Tucker is the guy who laid the foundation for that while serving as the Buckeyes' secondary coach and later co-defensive coordinator from 2001-2004.
That's largely-unclaimed territory now that OSU has shifted its recruiting focus from the in-state priority Tressel placed upon it to the national reach Urban Meyer favored and that Ryan Day has continued.
Day's first full class as head coach includes 25 recruits, including only eight from Ohio and zero from Northeast Ohio, where schools in Akron, Canton, Massillon and Cleveland have produced numerous All-Americans over the decades.
Of course, OSU will always recruit a Chris Spielman, Desmond Howard or Charles Woodson, but a level below that exists scores of elite players who could make Michigan State competitive or elevate it above Michigan and Penn State as the Buckeyes' chief challenger.
Dantonio made that strategy work for him and it's likely Tucker will leverage relationships he cultivated to bring players like Dustin Fox, Troy Smith, Donte Whitner, Anthony Gonzalez, Ted Ginn Jr. and Antonio Pittman to OSU during his four seasons on Tressel's staff.
Ohio State kept its hooks in Northeast Ohio, and particularly Cleveland Glenville High School, after Tucker's departure for the Cleveland Browns from 2005-2008.
Cardale Jones, who rescued Meyer's team in 2014 and quarterbacked it to the first College Football Playoff championship, is a Glenville grad who was already on campus when Meyer was hired.
Tucker has the cache of having worked for Nick Saban at MSU and Alabama and Kirby Smart at Georgia.
Tucker has national championship rings and extensive NFL experience.
He's not as proven as a college head coach as Luke Fickell, who turned down the MSU job, but Tucker is a potential force who could prove problematic for Ohio State in recruiting.
That's the first step to becoming an issue for the Buckeyes on the field.
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