Mel Tucker has some work to do if he’s going to win over the Michigan State football fanbase and here’s what he’ll need to do.
The Big Ten has a ton of issues to figure out.
First, the conference released a 10-game schedule and then a week later it voted to postpone the 2020 season until the spring. And then commissioner Kevin Warren said he wasn’t going to revisit the postponement as it was final despite the disdain from many fans, coaches, players and parents of players. And now, the conference is reportedly looking at a start around Thanksgiving.
This has left teams in limbo, not really sure how to proceed. Should the coaches act like a season will be happening this fall or just expect a delay until spring or complete cancellation?
For someone like Mel Tucker who has been hit with bad luck arguably worse than any coach in the country, it hasn’t been an easy year. He took the job in East Lansing after National Signing Day and Michigan State had zero commitments in its 2021 class. Not only that, but he was forced to develop relationships with players quickly before spring ball. Oh yeah, and he had to hire an entire coaching staff.
And then the pandemic hit and all of these relationships were forced to happen over Zoom.
Recruiting hasn’t taken off quite like people had expected, but it’s year one and we are in the midst of said pandemic. Give the man some time.
Tucker has a solid backing of MSU fans, but there are a ton of doubters still. For the “wait and see” crowd, here’s what Tucker can do to win them over in year one.