Tag: Jay Johnson

Notre Dame coach Link Jarrett among finalists for LSU job

Could Jarrett be on his way out already?

Notre Dame soon could join the ranks of programs that have lost their coach after a pleasantly surprising season. Link Jarrett reportedly is one of three names in the final running for the coaching vacancy at LSU. A source says Jarrett recently interviewed for the job. Also in the running to replace the retired Paul Mainieri are Arizona’s Jay Johnson and East Carolina’s Cliff Godwin.

Notre Dame’s 2021 season was its best in years thanks largely to Jarrett’s leadership. The Irish made it to the super regionals and came within a win against Mississippi State of advancing to the College World Series. They finished with a 34-13 overall record, clinching the ACC Atlantic Division along the way. For his efforts, Jarrett was named the ACC Coach of the Year.

While losing Jarrett after only two seasons would be tough for Notre Dame, it’s difficult to say no to following in the footsteps of an accomplished coach like Mainieri. Somehow, the Irish would carry on without him, difficult as it may seem. Such is the case in college athletics.

Michigan State football recruiting targets: Quarterbacks

Taking a look at the top quarterback targets on Michigan State’s recruiting board. Who will be the Spartans QB in the 2022 recruiting class.

Mel Tucker has brought a new enthusiasm and excitement to Michigan State’s football recruiting. Tucker is known as an ace recruiter and he is bringing that intensity to East Lansing.

In this series we will look at who some of Michigan State’s top targets are in the 2022 recruiting class.

First, the quarterbacks, the most important position on the field is obviously a priority on the recruiting trail for Mel Tucker along with offensive coordinator and QBs coach Jay Johnson.

Let’s take a look at Michigan State’s quarterback targets:

Michigan State football trying to close on 2022 QB AJ Duffy

Top MSU quarterback prospect AJ Duffy is close to making his college decision. The Spartans are doing everything they can to land the top QB

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Michigan State’s top QB target for the class of 2022 is IMG Academy’s AJ Duffy. Duffy, originally from Rancho Verde High School in Moreno Valley, California, is a 4-star and ranked the 103rd prospect according to the 247Sports composite rankings.

Duffy was supposed to make his commitment sometime today, March 31st, but has pushed the decision back in order to fully make sure he is ready.

The Spartans are now the beneficiaries of the delay, as Duffy plans to take a self-guided unofficial visit to East Lansing for the spring game in April.

Michigan State is locked into a three-team race along with Arizona State and Florida State to earn Duffy’s talents. Arizona State has been perceived as the longtime leader but late charges by the Spartans and Seminoles have this neck and neck.

All three coaching staffs believe they have done enough to gain Duffy’s commitment, making this an interesting finish.

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Here is what every Michigan State Football coach was paid in 2020

We take a look at the salaries of every MSU Football coach this season.

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The Michigan State Football season is now officially over. While it definitely had some rough spots, I think it’s hard to argue that head coach Mel Tucker is building a positive new culture and program in East Lansing in his image.

With wins over Michigan and Northwestern, there is certainly enough good to draw from the 2020 season that every MSU fan should be excited for the future.

Part of the deal with Tucker coming into town was that he was given a substantial amount of money to hire his staff. Tucker himself was given a salary of $5.5 million, good for fourth in the Big Ten behind Jim Harbaugh ($8.1 million), James Franklin ($6.7 million), and Ryan Day ($5.7 million).

Here are the salaries of the rest of his staff:

  • Jay Johnson, Offensive Coordinator/QB coach: $975,000
  • Scottie Hazelton Defensive Coordinator: $950,000
  • Mike Tressel, Safeties Coach: $723,000
  • Chris Kapilovic, Offensive Line Coach: $700,000
  • Ron Burton, Defensive Line Coach: $552,500
  • Ted Gilmore, Tight Ends Coach: $500,000
  • Harlon Barnett, Cornerbacks Coach: $480,000
  • Ross Els, Special Teams Coordinator/LB Coach: $475,000
  • Courtney Hawkins, Wide Receivers Coach: $387,000
  • William Peagler, Running Backs Coach: $200,000

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MSU Football coaches: WR/CB Julian Barnett could still play either side of the ball

Michigan State WR/CB Julian Barnett could potentially still play on both sides of the ball according to his coaching staff.

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Michigan State Football’s Julian Barnett was recruited to the Spartans last year as the No. 1 cornerback in the state of Michigan, but he spent every single snap of his freshman season playing wide receiver due to injuries. While Barnett has been meeting with the cornerbacks, it looks like there is still the possibility that he plays on both sides of the ball next season.

Chris Solari of the Detroit Free Press was on calls with both defensive coordinator Scottie Hazelton and offensive coordinator Jay Johnson, and both members of Mel Tucker’s coaching staff spoke on the talented young Spartan.

From Hazelton:

“Julian has been in our rooms now, playing some corner, doing some of that stuff and getting trained that way.

From Johnson:

“I’ve heard about Julian and have seen some things about him, but I hear he’s a very talented athlete… so my approach on that is — and that’s going to really probably come from Coach Tuck — but where does he make our team better? … I could see that possibly being on either side of the ball because of his skill set, which is really exciting.”

Barnett had 13 reception in his freshman year for 182 yards and also returned a few kicks for MSU.

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MSU Football OC Jay Johnson expects Connor Heyward to stay at running back

Despite some offseason speculation, new Michigan State OC Jay Johnson anticipates that Connor Heyward will remain at running back.

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Michigan State Football has a new offensive coordinator in town, and despite the directive to stay at home, Jay Johnson did a teleconference for the media on Wednesday to answer questions about the Spartans offense. One interesting takeaway from the session was related to MSU running back Connor Heyward. Johnson was asked on the call if Heyward would be staying at the running back position, to which Johnson replied that he intends on Heyward staying in the backfield.

Chris Solari of the Detroit Free Press was on the call:

“Right now my intent is Connor to be a running back unless it would tell me different at a later date,” Johnson said. “But certainly going into this, we’re glad that he’s back and I anticipate him being a running back.”

Heyward, who only played four games last year before entering the transfer portal, has flashed potential in the passing game, and at 233 pounds even had fans wondering if he could potentially slide into a role at tight end.

Johnson’s opinion may change once he’s actually able to interact with Heyward and the Spartans in person, but as of right now it looks like Heyward could be in line for a big role in the backfield next season.

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Here is what every Michigan State Football coach will be making in 2020

Mel Tucker’s first staff at Michigan State is now finalized. Here is what they will be making in 2020.

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When Michigan State Football hired their new head coach in Mel Tucker, not only did they give him a very competitive salary, they also agreed to give him a $6 million salary pool to hire his staff. Today, media members, including Chris Solari of the Detroit Free Press, were given access to the salaries of every MSU coach on Tucker’s staff, and we rounded those salaries up below:

According to Chris Solari, the Spartans have used $5,844,385 of Tucker’s allotted salary pool. The interesting thing for me is Tressel’s salary. Tucker is using a not-insignificant amount of his salary pool to keep Tressel at the salary he made last year as the defensive coordinator.

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Rounding up every new Michigan State Football staff hire under Mel Tucker

Michigan State has a new head football coach in Mel Tucker. You can find all of his new staff hires here.

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The introduction of Mel Tucker as the replacement for Mark Dantonio as the new head coach for Michigan State Football has brought with it a number of coaching hires as Tucker looks to fill out his staff. Part of Tucker’s deal included an increase in salary to build out a new Michigan State Football staff with some of the best coaching talents in the country, and Tucker has been hard at work putting together a team of coaches around him that are widely respected. Here is a round-up of every new hire in the Tucker era.

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Michigan State hires Jay Johnson as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach

Johnson is the second assistant to follow Mel Tucker from Colorado to East Lansing

Mel Tucker is bringing another Colorado staffer with him to East Lansing.

After it was reported a few days ago that former Colorado offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Jay Johnson would be coming to Michigan State, the school made his hire official on Thursday.

Of Johnson, Tucker said via an official release, “Jay is an experienced play caller and an expert quarterbacks coach. He has a very innovative offensive mind. I was with Jay when he was at Georgia and really got to know him well there. He’s had success in the Big Ten before, calling plays at Minnesota. He runs a multiple offense with an emphasis on physicality, and he’s an aggressive play caller.”

Prior to joining Tucker in Colorado, Johnson was a quality control assistant with Georgia in 2017 and 2018. He was the OC and quarterbacks coach at Minnesota in 216 and held the same roles at the University of Louisiana (formerly known as UL-Lafayette) from 2011-2015.

Earlier this week, Chris Kapilovic joined Tucker’s staff as the offensive line coach and run game coordinator and Courtney Hawkins was named the wide receivers coach. Tucker previously announced that Mike Tressel and Ron Burton will be back on the defensive staff for the Spartans.

You can read a breakdown of what to expect from Johnson’s offense by clicking here.

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Locked On Spartans Podcast: MSU’s new offense, Courtney Hawkins, MSU vs. Nebraska basketball preview

How might Jay Johnson and Courtney Hawkins impact Michigan State football? A preview of MSU vs. Nebraska basketball.

Wil and Matt are reunited and it feels so gooooood! They go in-depth on what to expect from MSU’s offense under new coordinator Jay Johnson. Then they talk about Mel Tucker hiring Courtney Hawkins as receivers coach. Finally, a preview of MSU vs. Nebraska basketball.

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You can find the episode on iTunes, Spotify, and Google Podcasts.

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