Tag: Michigan State Football

Report: Michigan State to hire Kansas State defensive coordinator Scottie Hazelton

Mel Tucker has reportedly finalized his on-field coaching staff

Mel Tucker’s on-field coaching staff has reportedly been finalized.

According to Riley Gates of GoPowercat.com–the Kansas State 247 Sports page–Kansas State defensive coordinator Scottie Hazelton is expected to accept the defensive coordinator position on Mel Tucker’s staff.

Gates’ source says that while a deal hasn’t been finalized, K-State is expecting Hazelton to leave for East Lansing, citing an offer that Kansas State “can’t match.” Hazelton was paid $550,000 for his work last year at KSU. Former Michigan State defensive coordinator Mike Tressel was paid $725,000 last season to run the Spartan defense. The salary of new Michigan State offensive line coach and run game coordinator Chris Kapilovic has been reported as $700,000 per year.

Hazelton has only been the defensive coordinator in Manhattan for one season. In 2019 under Hazelton the Wildcats ranked 27th in points per game given up, up from 49th in 2018. KSU also improved from 61st in SP+ defense in 2018 to 47th in 2019. Before KSU Hazelton was the defensive coordinator at Wyoming from 2017-2018 and oversaw massive improvements in the Cowboy defense. In 2015 and 2016 Wyoming ranked 101st and 102nd in points per game allowed respectively and ranked 119th and 116th in defensive SP+. In Hazelton’s two seasons Wyoming ranked 9th and 29th in points per game allowed and 36th and 42st in defensive SP+.

Prior to Wyoming Hazelton was an assistant linebackers coach with the Jacksonville Jaguars. He was the defensive coordinator for Nevada in 2013, the linebackers coach at USC in 2012 and was the defensive coordinator for North Dakota State from 2010-2011 and won an FCS national championship in 2011.

If the hire eventually is finalized Hazelton with be the tenth and final on-field assistant on Mel Tucker’s staff. You can read a roundup of all of his hires here.

Locked On Spartans Podcast: Evaluating Mel Tucker’s hires, mailbag bonanza

What to make of Mel Tucker’s coaching staff now that it is almost full.

Wil and Matt evaluate Mel Tucker’s coaching staff and crack open the listener mailbag for a couple segments.

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

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=516986277]

Former Michigan State Football LB Max Bullough lands graduate assistant position at Alabama

Michigan State football alum Max Bullough will be heading to Alabama as a defensive graduate assistant.

[jwplayer RJySF4hX]

After spending last season as an assistant under Luke Fickell (yes, that Luke Fickell) at the University of Cincinnati, former Michigan State Football middle linebacker Max Bullough will be heading down to Alabama to act as a defensive graduate assistant under Nick Saban. This is a huge win for Bullough as the position is one of the most highly sought after in the country.

Bullough ended his career at Michigan State with an untimely suspension and entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the Houston Texans in 2014. After three seasons with the Texans, he was suspended for violating the NFL policy on performance-enhancing substances which led to him being released by Houston.

He spent a few months with the Cleveland Browns in 2018 before being released on April 12, 2018. After spending last season with the Bearcats, Bullough has now landed one of the most coveted graduate assistant roles in the country and this could be a fresh start in a new career in coaching for Bullough.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Report: MSU Football hires Scott Aligo of Akron as Director of Player Personnel

Michigan State Football has reportedly signed Scott Aligo from Akron as their new Director of Player Personnel.

[jwplayer RJySF4hX]

According to a report from Bruce Feldman of The Athletic, Michigan State Football has hired Scott Aligo to be their new Director of Player Personnel. Aligo currently holds that position with the University of Akron in Ohio.

This is very interesting because we were originally under the impression that Geoff Martzen would be occupying that position, as that was his role at Colorado and it was already announced that he was heading to MSU with Tucker, but Feldman also indicated that Martzen would take on the role of Chief of Staff.

Feldman broke the news about Mel Tucker and he is extremely credible so I would expect this to be accurate. According to the University of Akron website, Aligo has a long history of both college and NFL experience. He has had stints with the Kansas City Chiefs as a player personnel assistant, the Cleveland Browns in a similar role, and he was a defensive assistant with Texas A&M between 2012-14, among numerous other roles.

[opinary poll=”do-you-like-mel-tuckers-staff-hires_coll-aAdAcy” customer=”collegewires”]

You can find every staff hire thus far in the Mel Tucker era here.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

20 For 2020 College Football Topics, No. 19: Teams That Will Rebound Big

20 for 2020 College Football Topics, No. 19: The five teams that should rebound with a big 2020 after a mediocre 2019.

[jwplayer sH4llW1E]

20 for 2020 College Football Topics, No. 19: The five teams that should rebound with a big 2020 after a mediocre 2019.

– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

Let’s give the voters in the two major polls a little bit of credit on this – the 2019 preseason AP and Coaches polls weren’t all that bad when it came to getting them close to the pin.

Granted, it’s not hard to pick Clemson, Alabama, Georgia, Oklahoma, Ohio State and LSU to be good – the preseason top six in both polls – but there are always a few misfires.

Here are five teams ranked in the 2019 preseason top 25 that didn’t live up to expectations, but should be a whole lot better this year. The list is based on last year’s preseason ranking going from the bottom up, starting with …

5. Nebraska Cornhuskers

2019 Preseason Ranking
AP 24, Coaches NR (26)
Final Record: 5-7

What Went Wrong? 

The expectations weren’t exactly through the roof from the pollsters – the Huskers were only ranked in the top 25 in the AP poll – but there was a whole lot of buzz about Year Two under Scott Frost being the launching pad for a new Big Red Machine.

After all, if Northwestern could play for the Big Ten title like it did in 2018, then why not Nebraska? The schedule didn’t look that bad, QB Adrian Martinez had a year under his belt, the talent level was starting to come together, and …

Nope.

Both lines were mediocre, the offense was way too inconsistent, the explosive plays were duds, and there were too many mistakes and turnovers as the Huskers dropped five of their last six games.

It was the first time Nebraska experienced three straight losing seasons since a rough run from 1956 to 1961.

Why 2020 Will Be Better: Returning Talent

The defensive line will be the early issue with three starters gone from the front three, and CB Lamar Jackson is going to be a star at the next level, but just about everyone is back on a defense that now has a little bit of depth, too.

It all comes down to how good Adrian Martinez is. If he’s great in Year Three, the offense should finally be what Husker fans have been waiting for with the potential of ten starters returning.

Why 2020 Will Be Better: Schedule 
– 2020 Nebraska Football Schedule Analysis

If Nebraska is close to being Nebraska again, the first half of the schedule is a dream.

Nebraska isn’t supposed to lose at home to Cincinnati, or Purdue, or Illinois, and Nebraska is supposed to win at Northwestern. 7-0 is an attainable goal before a brutal finishing kick, but the possibility is there to at least be the Minnesota of last season with a hot start.

At the very least, it’s time to go bowling again.

NEXT: After taking a year off …

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5

Michigan State Football offers 2021 4-star Running Back Jaylen Anderson

Michigan State and new head coach Mel Tucker have extended an offer to Perry, Ohio rusher Jaylen Anderson.

[jwplayer RJySF4hX]

On Monday, Michigan State Football signed a new Running Backs coach in William Peagler. Later that night, the number three rusher in the 2021 class, LJ Johnson Jr. announced that he had received an offer from the Spartans. On Tuesday, another highly touted Running Back, Jaylen Anderson announced that he has also received an offer from Mel Tucker and William Peagler.

Anderson, who is out of Perry, Ohio, is the number eight ranked player in the state of Ohio and the number 16 ranked running back in the 2021 recruiting class according to 247sports.

Anderson is a 5’11” rusher who weighs 205 pounds. He has offers from Florida, Iowa, Kentucky (from recruiter Vince Marrow, who Tucker tried to hire), Utah and more.

Tucker has been handing out offers left and right since arriving at East Lansing. He has a reputation as a strong recruiter but only time will tell how that pans out, but he certainly has been aggressive early on in his recruiting.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Michigan State Football offers No. 3 2021 running back LJ Johnson Jr.

Mel Tucker has offered one of the top running backs in the 2021 recruiting class a scholarship in Texas rusher LJ Johnson.

[jwplayer RJySF4hX]

New Michigan State Football head coach Mel Tucker has a reputation as a strong recruiter that goes all the way back to his time with Ohio State in the mid-2000s, and while we have not yet seen the fruits of those talents yet in East Lansing, he has already made some big recruiting swings out of the gate. On Monday night, the number three running back in the 2021 recruiting class announced that he has received a scholarship offer from the Spartans.

Johnson is ranked number thirty in the 2021 class according to 247sports and he is the number four ranked player in the state of Texas. This might be a bit of a hail mary pass as Johnson has offers from pretty much every team in the country including LSU and Georgia, but you have to love the confidence and aggressiveness from Tucker’s recruiting process.

This comes just one day after the number twelve ranked player in the state of Texas (according to 247sports’ rankings) QB Kaidon Salter announced that he also received an offer from MSU and Mel Tucker.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

MSU Football hires William Peagler as Running Backs Coach

Mel Tucker and Michigan State announced Peagler as the RB Coach Monday evening.

[jwplayer RJySF4hX]

Another day, another staff hire for Mel Tucker and MSU Football as they just announced that Mel Tucker will be adding William Peagler to his staff as the new Running Backs Coach at Michigan State. Peagler worked on Tucker’s staff as an offensive analyst at Colorado and will now follow Tucker to East Lansing.

Tucker has done a good job balancing his staff hires, with some personnel following him back from Colorado while also tapping into some Michigan State veterans like Ron Burton and Darien Harris. I admittedly do not have much information about Peagler as a coaching talent so I won’t comment too much on the merits of this hire and we will see how it plays out.

For a full list of Tucker’s staff hires you can check out our full round-up article here.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Locked On Spartans Podcast: A B1G week of basketball, Mel Tucker is crootin’

The Big Ten basketball season has the potential to get very wild this week.

Wil and Matt talk about the crazy weekend that was in college basketball. Then they riff on the Big Ten race and how this MSU team stacks up to previous MSU teams. Finally, Mel Tucker gets compared to a modern day baseball player and it makes sense.

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

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=516986277]

NFL Network Draft Analyst Daniel Jeremiah comments on MSU Football Draft Prospects

Michigan State Football has seven players heading to the NFL Draft Combine and Daniel Jeremiah commented on each player’s prospects.

[jwplayer RJySF4hX]

Michigan State Football will have seven players present in the NFL Draft Combine, vying for a chance to get drafted and play at the highest level in the sport. This class features some big names in the MSU Football world. From Kenny Willekes to Raequan Williams and Brian Lewerke, some of the best players of these last few years in Spartan football will be eligible in this year’s draft. NFL Draft analysts have started weighing in on the Spartans in the draft, and Daniel Jeremiah of the NFL Network spoke to the media on Friday and had some interesting things to say about this MSU draft class.

Daniel Jeremiah spoke on a number of different Spartans, but like Mel Kiper Jr of ESPN, he also had Josiah Scott as MSU’s top draft prospect:

“He plays outside, I think he’s going to be a nickel, he’s got makeup speed, he can pattern read, he’s really fluid, he can find the ball,” Jeremiah said about Scott. “He just got outsized a little bit on the outside losing some of those 50-50 balls. He’s somebody that I have as (Michigan State’s) top guy. He’s probably in that fourth-round range for me.”

On Raequan Williams:

“Can play the 1 and the 3 technique,” Jeremiah said. “He’s got the ability to collapse the pocket. He’s all power and bull rush. He just doesn’t have a great get-off and he’s a little bit stiff.”

On Kenny Willekes:

“More effort than really twitch and explosiveness,” Jeremiah said of Willekes. “He kills tight ends – man, he loves to play over tight ends, does a great job against them. … He can bull rush. I just didn’t see a ton of twitch or a ton of burst with him. Although, I’ll give him credit, he did some good things down in Mobile at the Senior Bowl.”

On Cody White:

“He just has a lot of drops when I studied him,” Jeremiah said. “Thought he was more of a one-speed player.”

On Joe Bachie:

“You have what happened with him missing games. … I thought he did a good job directing traffic,” Jeremiah said. “He can float, sort and fill and make some plays there. I just thought he had really average speed and range and I didn’t anticipate he would get drafted.”

On Darrell Stewart Jr.:

“Darrell Stewart, another wide receiver who I thought was a free agent, who is good on bubbles and tunnel screens,” Jeremiah said. “He can work some in the middle of the field, I just didn’t see a lot of juice.”

He also mentioned that he did not anticipate that Brian Lewerke would be drafted.