Michigan State Football: Ranking Mel Tucker’s 3 best staff hires

1. Jay Johnson, Offensive Coordinator

The No. 1 thing Michigan State fans want to see is a high-scoring football team. With Dave Warner in charge of calling plays, they saw the complete opposite.

When Mel Tucker announced that he would not be bringing Warner back, Spartan Nation rejoiced in jubilation. The days of deep hand-offs, runs up the middle, and jet sweeps to the short side are over. The Spartans can finally have a real, competent offensive system with a play-caller who knows what he’s doing.

Jay Johnson is another staffer who Tucker brings with him from Colorado. Johnson is an innovative offensive mind who runs a multiple offense, and Tucker called him an “aggressive play caller”. Aggression and versatility are two qualities that have been severely lacking from the Spartan offense recently, aside from the occasional fake punt.

Johnson also spent time with Tucker at Georgia as an offensive analyst.

The Michigan State offense has all the pieces on paper to be a good one. The previously mentioned offensive line, a star running back in Elijah Collins, an athletic stud at tight end in Trenton Gillison, and a strong wide receiving corps that features the likes of Jalen Nailor and Jayden Reed.

The biggest question mark is who will start at quarterback. Rocky Lombardi is the most experienced, but Payton Thorne and Theo Day have higher ceilings. It’s an open competition, though, so whoever gets the starting role will have high expectations.

Spartan fans are anxiously awaiting  a high-powered offense they haven’t seen before, and Johnson is the perfect man to usher one in.