3&Out: On Michigan State’s Mel Tucker getting irked about Michigan and why it was a good look for him; plus the QB race; and the hazing question
Indianapolis – Three main takeaways from Spartan head coach Mel Tucker’s interview sessions during Tuesday’s Big Ten Media Days press conference at Lucas Oil Stadium, including: a little edginess from him in regard to the Michigan game; his thoughts on hazing within a football program; and a little insight on the ensuing quarterback battle at Michigan State.
1. TUCKER WILL BE THERE
Tucker knew it was likely that the Michigan-Michigan State game this year would be scheduled for prime time.
Then news broke on Tuesday afternoon, confirming that the Spartans and Wolverines will kick off at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 21, likely on NBC.
When word circulated back to Tucker’s off-podium interview session on Tuesday, Tucker wasn’t surprised.
“Is that concrete?” Tucker asked a questioner. “It is? Yep. We’ll be there. We’ll be there.”
He said those words quickly, with a tone of determination and personality that we haven’t seen from Tucker in a media setting in past years.
On this day, Tucker seemed less-scripted and more like the personality some of us have come to know over the last four years. He was a little edgy and even a little delightfully bothered when the subject turned to the Michigan game, with a line of questioning that caused him to push back a little bit. Just a little bit. Not too much. Just a little. Just right.
The Michigan State vs Michigan rivalry sank to new levels of hatred last year when a melee broke out in the Michigan Stadium tunnel following the game, resulting in seven Spartan players being charged with assault.
Tucker is 2-1 against Michigan and will seek a third victory this year against a Wolverine team that is the clear favorite to win the Big Ten. It’s not like he has reason to be frustrated by the rivalry. But he was willing to get constructively irked, just a little bit, on tis day.
After his abrupt, “We’ll be there” statement, a follow-up question was lobbed at Michigan State’s fourth-year head coach. He was asked by a Michigan reporter if he felt the rivalry needed to be “reined in.”
“What do you mean, ‘reined in?’” Tucker responded.
“Like maybe it had crossed the line,” the reporter said.
“Yeah, how do you rein it in?” Tucker asked rhetorically. “I don’t know how you do that.”
Then Tucker kind of hit a level of irritation that reminded me of the way Nick Saban used to get worked up. Nothing major. Nothing offensive. Nothing out of control. Just irritated, reflective, terse, instructive with a feeling that he slightly enjoyed the energy that his controlled annoyance was creating within himself.
“There is not a DAY that has gone by that I haven’t heard something about that game,” Tucker said. “I mean every day of my life, I hear about that game. So I don’t know how you rein that in. It just is what it is.”
Someone mentioned the suggestion from a few maize flakes a year ago that perhaps the rivalry needed to take a year off, once in awhile.
“No,” Tucker said. “That’s never going to happen. That’s not even a reality. Why would we want to do that?”
Then Tucker was asked if he would like for Michigan State vs Michigan to be a protected rivalry, one that can’t be taken off the Big Ten schedule.
“Of course,” Tucker said. “I mean that’s what’s great about college football. When you’re coaching, (it’s rivalries like) Cleveland-Pittsburgh, Chicago-Green Bay, Alabama-Auburn, Georgia-Florida, Colorado-Nebraska.”
He’s been a part of all of those rivalries as a coach.
“I mean those are big games,” Tucker said. “That’s why we coach. That’s why we play – to be in those big games and ultimately to win those games. Often times, you are judged by how you do in those games.
“So I think it’s great. From the day I got here, in my initial press conference, I’m not shying away from the challenge of the rivalry. It’s the biggest game of the year for us and it’s always going to be like that as long as I’m the coach here.”
Yes, it’s safe to say he will “be there” on Oct. 21. And NBC’s national audience will be subject to hot competition.
2. A HAZING-FREE PROGRAM
In the wake of news from Northwestern this month about the hazing problem that permeated through the Wildcats’ program and cost Pat Fitzgerald his job, it’s only natural for college football fans to wonder whether their program is free from that type of mess.
Tucker didn’t flinch when asked if he felt the need to double-check within his program to make sure there was no hazing taking place.
“No,” he said. “We have an anti-hazing policy and it’s not like you have to double-check. We see our guys all the time. We have a large staff. We have 10 coaches, the G.A.’s, the analysts, the quality control guys, the operations people, the Darien Harrises, the trainers, the strength staff. We are surrounding these guys, so we know what’s going on with our players.
“We have a close-knit team. We have an anti-hazing policy and it’s laid out to the players when we meet with our players at the start of camp. On Wednesday, we are going to hit it again.”
No problem. No hazing at Michigan State. I take him at face value on that one.
3. OFFICIALLY, IT’S A THREE-WAY QB COMPETITION
Tucker was asked about the continued competition between Redshirt-junior Noah Kim and redshirt-freshman Katin Houser for the starting quarterback job.
Tucker was quick to state that it will be a three-QB race, with true freshman Sam Leavitt involved as well, when practice begins on Aug. 3.
Leavitt is a four-star recruit, as was Houser. Leavitt has immense talent and good running ability but he will be operating at a severe experience shortage.
“He didn’t have the spring (with us),” Tucker said. “He has to come in and learn what to do. He has to learn the offense. He has to gain the trust of his teammates. He has to be able to execute on a consistent basis better than the other two guys.”
Basically, it sounds Leavitt’s initial candidacy is the fulfillment of a recruiting promise. Tucker is eager to keep that promise and see how far Leavitt can climb in a short time.
I love Leavitt’s high school film and I think he has the potential to be an excellent college quarterback. but I think he has very little chance of making a realistic push for the starting job on opening night. But promises are promises, and the coaches are at least going to give him some snaps with the ones to make sure he isn’t the man, for now.
“Sam is a very confident guy,” Tucker said. “He has some high goals. He was clear in recruiting that he wanted to come in and play as a freshman, and that’s his goal. We told him competition was going to be open. So we’ll see how it goes. We have 25 practices before the first game.”
SpartanMag reported that Kim was ahead of Houser throughout the spring and projects Kim as the strong favorite to become the starter on opening night. Kim had a good spring. Now he has to follow it up with a strong August camp in order to nail down the job.
Tucker is giving no indication that there is a leader. And history tells us he will keep it that way right up until kickoff of the season opener.
“A couple of years ago, I don’t think anybody knew who was going to be the starting quarterback going into the Northwestern game,” Tucker said, in reference to the Payton Thorne vs. Anthony Russo battle. “It may be like that. We’ll see.
“It’s an open competition. I like the way the guys have approached it. We have very talented guys in that room. It’s a healthy competition and we’re going to play the best player. We just don’t know who that is at this point.
“Obviously, Noah has more experience. He’s been in the system longer. You saw when he went in games he make it look relatively easy versus the guys he was playing against.”
Tucker stressed that the coaches won’t be asking the starting quarterback to be a savior right away.
“We just need someone to go in there and do what we need to do, and lead,” Tucker said. “Run the offense. Take what the defense give them. If it’s not there, hit the checkdown, run it, throw it away and knock the beer out of someone’s hands in the stands. Play complementary football and don’t try to do too much.”
Kim, who has practices in all three seasons of the Tucker era, likely has a better idea of how to play within himself, and within the system, than Houser. Houser will look to close the gap.
“When you have more competition on the roster, the practices are more competitive and you get a lot better a lot faster,” Tucker said. “I remember going into the 2015 season (at Alabama) and we were repping three quarterbacks and no one knew who the quarterback was going to be, and then Jake Coker emerges and we win the National Championship.
“Same thing at Ohio State. I mean, who knew who Craig Krenzel was before the 2002 season?
“Good players emerge and if you have a good team around them, that gives you the best chance. We are just not going to ask our quarterback to do too much.”
But it is a three-man race. Officially. For now. But I suspect it’s going to be a two-man race, with Kim the man, at the outset. And I think he’ll have the talent and skill to keep the job. Just a hunch.
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