Michigan State football: Mel Tucker said all the right things in weekly presser
For weeks, Michigan State football coach Mel Tucker has spoken to the media after losses and it hasn’t quite been what fans have wanted to hear.
He’s been echoing the same thing for a while.
“Death by inches.”
“We’re so close.”
“We aren’t playing complimentary football.”
“I’m not looking to make any coaching changes.”
Those quotes just didn’t sit well with me. He clearly has a team with a number of glaring issues and it’s never been death by inches. Michigan State has lost all four games by double figures and they haven’t been very close throughout. The games have essentially been decided by halftime with the exception of Maryland.
So when he was preparing to speak to the media on Monday, I was expecting a lot more of the same. And it would have driven me nuts.
Thankfully, he said all the right things.
Michigan State football is in good hands
Tucker’s message on Monday proved that the Spartans are in good hands and the future is bright. He knows that he has a lot of work to do and he won fans back with his presser on Monday afternoon.
This quote about fans leaving early really stuck with me:
Cleaning up the live transcript for Mel Tucker's quote: "What do I say to the fans? We need to play better football so you can be proud, a brand of football out there that you expect. And then we'll get more of what we want from our fans."
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) October 10, 2022
He knows that if Michigan State is playing the poor brand of football that they have been, fans are going to be leaving early. He knows he has to win the support of the fanbase.
Tucker also said he’s avoiding frustration. Which is good because a coach is supposed to be the level-headed source of consistency.
Tucker: "My frustration level is not there, because I'm focused on this game and practice. Frustration gets you nowhere" and MSU needs to prepare for the next opponent. More of his beliefs in neutral thinking.
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) October 10, 2022
Finally, this quote was impressive because not all coaches are like this (looking at you, Scott Frost and Brian Kelly):
Tucker says he told MSU players, "I will never throw you or a coach or any staff member under the bus publicly. I'll never do that." Behind closed doors, though, "we have to make sure we hold each other accountable. And we're doing that."
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) October 10, 2022
There was one quote that didn’t sit well with me so I guess he wasn’t perfect in his presser:
Tucker says when MSU hands the ball off, "the vast majority of our runs are efficient. You can see that in this past game."
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) October 10, 2022
Going to hard disagree there and say that a vast majority of runs are not efficient and it has a lot to do with the offensive line not getting a push.
All-in-all, not a bad weekly presser for Mel and you like to hear some different things rather than “death by inches.”
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