CBS Sports ranks Mel Tucker as a top 25 power five head coach

See where Mel Tucker ranks compared to the rest of the power five head coaches in CBS Sports’ rankings

A year ago, many would have considered Michigan State’s Mel Tucker a lower-tier coach in the Big Ten and certainly on the national level. But a lot has changed since this time last year.

Tom Fornelli of CBS Sports is ranking all 65 of the power five head coaches in college football, and with that he has Tucker in the top 25. Tucker jumped 33 spots from last year and came in at No. 24 in Fornelli’s rankings.

Here’s a little of what Fornelli had to say about Tucker:

“Tucker was at 57 last season following a 2-5 debut at Michigan State, but an 11-2 record and Peach Bowl victory catapult him into the top 25. The trick will be to see if he can keep it up because expectations have been raised.”

Tucker ranked No. 8 among Big Ten coaches, falling behindย  Ryan Day (No. 6), Jim Harbaugh (No. 9), Kirk Ferentz (No. 13), Paul Chryst (No. 14), James Franklin (No. 15), Pat Fitzgerald (No. 21) and P.J. Fleck (No. 24).

Tucker will be entering his third year as the Spartans’ head coach this fall with an overall record of 13-7. That record alone isn’t anything to sneeze at, but the type of transformation he has already done with Michigan State’s roster and taking a team many picked to finish last in the Big Ten East Division entering last year to 11-2 with a Peach Bowl victory is why he’s so high in these rankings.

Click on the tweet below to see the complete write-up on Tucker from Fornelli and the rest of his power five coaches rankings:

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WATCH: Michigan State Football releases ‘Fall Camp Recap’ video

Check out the Michigan State Football ‘Fall Camp Recap’ video that was released on Monday

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It’s game week for Michigan State football.

Michigan State has wrapped up fall camp and has turned their focus to Northwestern with game week officially here. The Spartans will take on Northwestern on Friday, with their season-opening match-up taking place in Evanston, Ill. Kickoff is scheduled for 9 p.m. EDT.

Before completely turning the focus to Northwestern, the Spartans social media team released a “Fall Camp Recap” video on Monday. The six-minute long video provides an inside look at the Spartans’ fall camp as they prepared for the upcoming 2021 season.

Check out the video below:

 

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Mel Tucker hired as Michigan State head coach

Former Georgia football defensive coordinator Mel Tucker has been hired as the new Michigan State football’s head coach.

Michigan State is moving on from long time head coach Mark Dantonio and have hired former Georgia defensive coordinator Mel Tucker.

Dantonio spent 16 years as the Spartans’ head coach, finishing his career there with a .641 win percentage and a 7-5 bowl record.ย  Tucker on the other hand has been climbing the coaching ranks year by year.

Tucker began his coaching career in 1997 at Michigan State as a graduate assistant.ย  He bounced around from college and the NFL as a defensive backs coach and defensive coordinator, winning 2 National Championships with Ohio State and Alabama.

Tucker left Alabama after that National Championship in 2015 and joined Kirby Smart at Georgia.ย  He spent three years as the Dawgs defensive coordinator, helping win a Rose Bowl and nearly a National Championship.

Tucker spent this past season as the Colorado head coach, where he finished 5-7.ย  Now Tucker finally has the head coaching position he deserves at a Power Five school.ย  Well deserved from a great defensive mind.