Category: Mel Tucker

Big Ten football media days complete schedule for this week

See when MSU head coach Mel Tucker will take the main stage at Big Ten Football Media Days this week

Big Ten football media days is upon us.

The unofficial kickoff of the college football season is here with conference media days taking place across the country the past few weeks. It’s the Big Ten’s turn to be in the spotlight: Every head coach takes the stage this week in Indianapolis.

Big Ten media days take place on Wednesday and Thursday and will be televised on the Big Ten Network. So here’s a complete breakdown of when each coach and new Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petittiwill take the stage:

CBS Sports: MSU head coach Mel Tucker’s seat is heating up, ‘pressure mounting’

CBS Sports may be a little premature with this take on Mel Tucker…

Michigan State football head coach Mel Tucker’s seat is apparently starting to warm up, according to Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports.

Dodd released the “2023 College Football Hot Seat Rankings” this week and Tucker is one of the coaches that could be starting feel some pressure entering this upcoming season. Of the six ratings (ranging from zero to five) in Dodd’s article, Tucker was slotted as a three — which is the bucket labeled as “pressure is mounting.”

Tucker is entering his fourth season as the Spartans head coach, with a record of 18-14 overall. Tucker, however, is in the midst of a massive deal that makes it wild to think that Michigan State would be even remotely considering to move on from him. So this rating from Dodd seems terribly premature unless he expects Michigan State to have a terrible season in 2023 — which I personally don’t think will happen.

Click on the tweet below to see the complete rankings from Dodd:

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan state news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Robert Bondy on Twitter @RobertBondy5.

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MSU football head coach Mel Tucker included on Dodd Trophy coach of the year watch list

Michigan State head coach Mel Tucker has been named to a prestigious award’s watch list for the 2023 season

Michigan State head coach Mel Tucker has been named to a prestigious award’s watch list for the 2023 season.

The Dodd Trophy released its preseason watch list this week, and Tucker was one of 21 coaches to crack the list. The Dodd Trophy is annually presented to the coach of the year in college football.

Only four other Big Ten coaches were included on this list: Ryan Day of Ohio State, Kirk Ferentz of Iowa, P.J. Fleck of Minnesota and Jim Harbaugh of Michigan. Surprisingly, James Franklin of Penn State and Luke Fickell of Wisconsin were not included.

Tucker is entering his fourth season with the Spartans, with an overall record of 18-14. He will be trying to steer the Spartans back into a bowl game this season after a disappointing 5-7 record last year.

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan state news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Robert Bondy on Twitter @RobertBondy5.

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Mel Tucker: Michigan State football CB Charles Brantley made ‘really good decision’ to withdraw name from transfer portal

Mel Tucker was glad to see Charles Brantley quickly withdraw his name from the transfer portal this spring

When speaking at the National College Showcase prospects camp at Wayne State in Detroit on Thursday, Michigan State football head coach Mel Tucker discussed the decision by his cornerback Charles Brantley, the lone starter returning this year at that position, to withdraw his name from the NCAA transfer portal and return to MSU:

“Obviously he’s still developing as a player,” Tucker said. “We really like him as a young man. We put a lot of work into him, invest a lot of time in him and he’s progressing on and off the field. I’m just really happy about the decision he made and I think it was a mature decision and a good choice.”

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan state news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Andrew Brewster on Twitter @IAmBrewster.

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Analyzing where Mel Tucker, rest of Big Ten land in CBS Sports’ coaches rankings

The annual tradition of ranking college football coaches has arrived

The annual tradition of ranking college football coaches has arrived.

CBS Sports has released their annual rankings for every power five head coach, and that included Michigan State’s Mel Tucker — who saw a notable drop from last year’s rankings. But how does Tucker compare to his peers in the Big Ten and is his fall justified?

I take a look at where every Big Ten coach landed in CBS Sports’ rankings and also offer my thoughts if the ranking is too high, low or just about right below:

Mel Tucker gives details on Michigan State ‘Spartan Football Kickoff’

Mel Tucker gives details on Michigan State ‘Spartan Football Kickoff’

Once again, Michigan State football will forego the traditional ‘spring game’ for more of a practice format, as the team continues to struggle with offseason injuries, particularly on the defensive line.

Here is Tucker describing the event:

“We’re gonna have more of a practice-type format with some scrimmaging as opposed to a game. That’s worked for us in the past,” Tucker said. “Just with our numbers, it’s gonna actually be more competitive for us and we can get a lot more out of it as opposed to trying to split the team up and create some type of game.”

Gates open for the event at 12:30pm E.T. and the event itself starts at 2pm E.T..

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New Michigan State football cornerbacks coach Jim Salgado contract details released

New Michigan State football cornerbacks coach Jim Salgado contract details released

Thanks to a Freedom of Information Act request filed by MLive, we now know the contract details for new Michigan State football cornerbacks coach Jim Salgado.

According to MLive.com, Salgado will receive an annual salary of $375,000. Salgado is taking the open spot left on the coaching staff after the departure of pass rush specialist Brandon Jordan to the NFL.

Salgado previously worked with the defensive backs on the Buffalo Bills.

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan state news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Andrew Brewster on Twitter @IAmBrewster.

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Michigan State football announces Jim Salgado as new cornerbacks coach

Michigan State has a named a new Cornerbacks Coach

Michigan State football had an open spot on its coaching staff with the recent departure of pass rush specialist coach Brandon Jordan to the NFL. Mel Tucker filled that spot on Thursday as the program announced the addition of Jim Salgado as the cornerbacks coach.

Harlon Barnett will still coach the defensive backs as a unit, and Salgado will work directly with the cornerbacks, a position group that struggled last year. Salgado comes to the Spartans with great experience. He coached with the Buffalo Bills for the last six seasons on a great defense.

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan state news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Andrew Brewster on Twitter @IAmBrewster.

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MSU football starting QB position is ‘open competition’, Mel Tucker says on Monday

It’s an “open competition” for the Michigan State football starting quarterback position

It’s an “open competition” for the Michigan State football starting quarterback position.

With spring practice beginning this week, Spartans head coach Mel Tucker met with media on Monday and one of the offseason’s biggest topics was brought up — how will he be assessing the starting quarterback position? Well, after a lackluster year in 2022, returning starter Payton Thorne is going to need to re-earn his role as QB1 apparently.

Tucker considers it an “open competition” between Thorne and the other quarterbacks — notably Noah Kim and Katin Houser — and that whoever wins the role has to lead, take command and be efficient.

Here’s the full quote from Tucker:

Thorne has started all 25 games for Michigan State the previous two seasons, leading the Spartans to a Peach Bowl in 2021 but then following it up with a losing record in 2022. Not all of last year’s failures fell on Thorne’s shoulders, but his inconsistent play certainly had fans calling for a change at that position heading into the offseason.

Houser redshirted last year but as a former four-star elite recruit in the 2022 class, he has garnered a lot of praise from fans to replace Thorne. It sounds like he’ll get his chance this spring.

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan state news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Robert Bondy on Twitter @RobertBondy5.

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MSU’s Mel Tucker left off 247Sports’ top 35 coaches list

Michigan State football head coach Mel Tucker is left off 247Sports’ top 35 coaches list

Things can change very fast in the world of college football.

A year ago, Michigan State head coach Mel Tucker was considered one of the hottest up-and-coming coaches in the game. However, one bad year and the he’s no longer considered one of the top 35 coaches in all of college football, according to Brad Crawford of 247Sports.

Crawford released his top 35 coaches in college football rankings earlier this week, and Tucker wasn’t on the list. Notable Big Ten coaches on his list included Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh (No. 3), Ohio State’s Ryan Day (No. 6), Wisconsin’s Luke Fickell (No. 9), Penn State’s James Franklin (No. 11), Minnesota’s P.J. Fleck (No. 31) and Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz (No. 32).

Tucker has had mixed results in his time at Michigan State with an overall record of 18-14 but anyone who follows the program understands the challenging rebuild he inherited when taking over in 2020. Tucker turned some heads last year when he took Michigan State to 11-2 and a Peach Bowl victory but this past season was extremely disappointing for the Spartans who finished 5-7 and missed reaching a bowl game.

Tucker not being included on this list doesn’t come as a surprise to me. But I believe he shouldn’t be too far off the list when you consider the amount of success he’s already experienced in relation to the situation he took over a few years ago.

Click on the tweet below to see the complete list from Crawford:

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan state news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Robert Bondy on Twitter @RobertBondy5.

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