Michigan State Football: Mel Tucker is going to scratch and claw for respect

A two-win season will never be anything to brag about, especially if you’re a Michigan State football fan who has seen the Spartans win a Rose Bowl, Cotton Bowl, make the College Football Playoff, win three Big Ten titles, and win 11-plus games five times over the past decade.

But 2020 was a special circumstance for a first-year head coach and a team that was made up of plenty of MAC and Sun Belt talent — that has since departed.

Mel Tucker took over a program in poor shape after National Signing Day with no spring or fall practice or face-to-face interaction for 90 percent of the offseason due to COVID-19 and took them to a 2-5 record with two ranked wins.

It was the best that could be done given the circumstances.

That’s obviously not going to garner a ton of national respect, but the disrespect shown toward a head coach who did a decent job given the circumstances and who has generated excitement within the program and flipped the roster, talent-wise, is starting to get ridiculous.

In fact, Dan Wolken of USA Today posted a subscription-based article on Wednesday afternoon that alluded to the fact that he, nor his writers, believe that Michigan State will be very good this season. You’ll obviously have to pay for the subscription to read the full story, but the preview tells Michigan State fans all they need to know: research is difficult.

Mentioning Michigan State with the likes of Purdue, Maryland, or Kansas State would be one thing, but using the Spartans in the same sentence as Kansas is flat-out disrespectful.

It’s fine to assume Michigan State isn’t going to contend for any titles this year, but to state that the Spartans will be one of the worst Power Five teams in the country after they recorded two ranked wins last season and only improved the talent pool on the roster is just a lazy take.

A little Michigan State football research goes a long way

Doing some research on Michigan State football would tell you the Spartans got better at every position, headlined by the quarterback spot.

Linebackers? Better. Defensive backfield? Far better and deeper. Defensive line? Way better. Offensive line? Better. Running back? Arguably the best it’s been in years. Receivers and tight ends? Better and better.

So tell me again why this 2-5 team from last year will be just as bad, or worse, this season with more talent and a coaching staff that got to actually, you know, coach?

It’s pretty clear that Tucker is going to have to scratch and claw for his respect and judging by the way he works, he’s OK with that.

Even if he ever wins 10 games at Michigan State and contends for a Big Ten title, I can already see the headlines the following year being “was it just a flash in the pan?”

Tucker already has the #disrespekt card built in.