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Rivals national recruiting guys, Mike Farrell and Adam Gorney, are both personalities we’re big fans of, and we definitely value their opinion on all things college football.
That said, they joined together to do their regular ‘fact or fiction’ piece, and asked the question: is Michigan State’s hiring of Mel Tucker something that should concern Michigan and Jim Harbaugh?
While Wolverines fans are quick to dismiss MSU no matter the circumstance, the two recruiting experts anticipate that Tucker could be bigger thorn in Harbaugh’s side than his predecessor Mark Dantonio.
And it all starts with the recruiting trail.
Farrell’s take: FACT. Mark Dantonio was a great coach and did an excellent job at Michigan State before things unraveled. So why would I think Mel Tucker is a bigger threat to Jim Harbaugh? Because of the way Tucker recruits, especially in the Southeast. That’s the key to getting to the playoff out of the Big Ten, especially in a division with Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan. Tucker’s ability to recruit will only hurt Michigan and make the Spartans stronger. Ohio State is still clearly the best team in the Big Ten and that won’t change anytime soon, but this is a good hire for Michigan State.
Gorney’s take: FACT. Michigan State needed a refresh as things got stale in recent years under Dantonio with back-to-back 7-6 records and an offense that was not inventive. On the field and especially in recruiting, Tucker was the right choice for this job because he will be relentless and give Michigan State a fresh start while keeping true to what works in East Lansing. All that makes it harder for Harbaugh on the recruiting trail because Tucker will focus on in-state talent and hitting the Southeast for elite players.
For us, we’re in wait-and-see mode. Tucker did an excellent job in many of his recent stops, whether it be bringing in the No. 32 class in 2020 to Colorado, per Rivals, or being a solid recruiter in his tenures at Alabama under Nick Saban or as the defensive coordinator of Georgia under Kirby Smart.
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However, considering that he hasn’t been at a program in awhile that’s had to play second-fiddle to another in its own state, we can’t quite believe the hype until Tucker manages some recruiting wins over Harbaugh. Still, there’s promise, even though MSU has become a shell of what it was through the middle of the last decade, that the rivalry could see some interesting battles in the near future.
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