Tag: Michigan State Football

WATCH: Former MSU Football QB Brian Lewerke throw some nice passes at the NFL Combine

Former Michigan State quarterback Brian Lewerke is at the NFL Combine and looked solid during the passing drills.

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Say what you will about the career of Brian Lewerke at Michigan State, but the former MSU Football QB was always productive while spending two years playing on a team riddled with injuries. He was frequently without his top wide receiver weapons and he was constantly playing behind inexperienced offensive linemen due to wide-spread injuries. It is due to the context of his situation that I think he actually has a solid shot to make an NFL roster, and he is currently doing a good job proving it at the NFL Combine where he had some very nice looking throws on Thursday.

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Here is one clip below posted by the MSU Football account that shows him nailing some nice out route passes:

And another of him throwing some crossing routes over the middle:

Lewerke ran a slower 4.95 on his 40-time but did impress on his passing, so there’s that. Cody White also ran the 40 today and clocked in at 4.66.

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New Michigan State Football WR Coach Courtney Hawkins to make $387,000 per year

Former Michigan State star and new wide receivers coach Courtney Hawkins will be receiving $387,000 per year over two years in his contract.

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According to MLive reporter Matt Wenzel new Michigan State Football Wide Receivers Coach Courtney Hawkins has signed a two-year contract with the Spartans worth $387,000 per year. This is the second contract of the new MSU coaches under Mel Tucker that have been released. Offensive Line Coach Chris Kapilovic’s salary has also been reported to be receiving $700,000 per year.

There are nine new coaches and fifteen total new staff members that have been announced so far during the Mel Tucker era, all of which you can find here, and it will certainly be interesting to keep an eye on the salaries as they are released. Michigan State made a sizable investment in Coach Tucker and his staff, increasing the salary pool for supporting coaches up to $6 million. Coach Hawkins’ salary is $68,153 more than former MSU Wide Receivers Coach Don Treadwell.

Before joining the Spartans, Hawkins was the athletic director and head coach of Flint Beecher High School for the past 14 years. Before that he spent nine seasons in the NFL.

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MSU Football to pay new offensive line coach Chris Kapilovic $700,000 per year

The first salary information for Michigan State’s new assistant coaches under Mel Tucker is starting to be released.

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When he agreed to join the team as their new head coach, Mel Tucker made sure to also get a sizable increase in available salary for MSU Football coaches and staff. With the added funds, $6 million for assistant coaches, salary information is starting to be released about Michigan State’s new coaches thanks to the Freedom of Information Act, and Chris Solari of the Detroit Free Press reported that new offensive line coach Chris Kapilovic will be making $700,000 per year over the next two seasons.

This is over $200,000 per year more than former Michigan State offensive line coach Jim Bollman made, which was $498,462. Kapilovic made $425,000 last year at Colorado under Tucker. Not only is this a big increase for the new OL coach, but it’s also a sign of the major investment the Spartans are making in their supporting cast. In 2019, the highest-paid MSU assistant coach was Mike Tressel who made $667,385.

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WATCH: Former MSU Football LB Joe Bachie speaks on suspension, failed drug test at NFL Combine

Michigan State’s Joe Bachie spoke about his failed drug test and subsequent suspension during his NFL Combine interview.

It is quite a strange factoid in MSU Football history that two of their best middle linebackers in the past decade, Max Bullough and Joe Bachie, were both suspended and unable to finish their senior seasons. The reason for Bullough’s suspension, which was called a ‘violation of team rules’, was never officially revealed, despite some rumors. Bachie, on the other hand, discussed his suspension in length today at the NFL Draft, and you can watch the video below.

The video was posted by Angelique Seremtis of The Detroit News:

Bachie’s side of the story is that he failed a drug test due to an over the counter pre-workout. He says that he passed a drug test shortly after his failed attempt and tried to appeal his suspension through the Big Ten but it didn’t go through. Bachie said that after his suspension, he acted as somewhat of an assistant coach and was still with the team at practices and lift sessions.

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Michigan State Football hires Jason Novak as Head Strength and Conditioning Coach

Michigan State Football and Mel Tucker have hired Jason Novak as their new Head Strength and Conditioning Coach, replacing Ken Mannie.

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In the past 24 hours, Michigan State has hired a new defensive coordinator, director of player personnel, and finally a new head strength and conditioning coach in Jason Novak, effectively solidifying Mel Tucker’s staff for the 2020 Football season.

Novak spent last season at IMG Academy, based in Florida, serving as their head of physical conditioning. Novak started his career as a grad assistant for Baylor and Stephen F. Austin before joining Alabama State’s strength and conditioning program from 200-03. Novak had his first lead strength and conditioning role at Yale in 2003-04 before leaving for the NFL where he spent 11 years working as an assistant strength and conditioning coach for the Tennessee Titans between 2004-15.

Novak then made his way to the State of Michigan where he was the director of strength and conditioning at Central Michigan before heading to IMG Academy.

Novak will be replacing the long-time MSU Football strength and conditioning coach Ken Mannie who retired a few weeks back.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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

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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.

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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 …

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