Michigan State Football: Mel Tucker gives refreshing recruiting outlook

When Mel Tucker was hired, he made it clear early on that he was going to place a major emphasis on recruiting. He even went as far as to say, “If you can’t recruit at Michigan State, you probably can’t recruit.”

Those words would either be his calling card for his recruiting success for years or his eventual downfall if he ever does struggle on the trail.

Getting top recruits to buy in to Michigan State football right now, however, is tough because it wasn’t exactly left in the best place. Mark Dantonio built the program into a national power before struggling over his final few years and recruiting took a massive hit. Now Tucker has to try and sell the program which hasn’t been relevant since 2017 to recruits.

But how does he evaluate players?

Well, his approach is actually pretty refreshing and it’s not just based on who the coaching staff likes, but who is actually going to take the program to that next level.

This is exactly what you want to hear from a new head coach of a program that was once at the mountaintop not too long ago and is trying to get back there.

How do you get back to the top of the spot? You recruit players who will help you beat the conference’s best teams that recruit the best players. Easy as that.

Tucker’s other Michigan State football recruiting notes

During this Zoom call that Tucker had with some members of the media, Tom Izzo, and President Stanley, he talked a lot about disliking “that school down the road” and other recruiting approaches.

He explained the need to beat out some of college football’s powerhouses for recruits and he believes Michigan State can do that. Tucker admitted that in order to be on their level, you have to be able to out-recruit them, on occasion.

This is exactly what you want to hear if you’re a Michigan State football fan.