If there’s one thing Mel Tucker did well as the head Michigan State football coach, it was recruit talented quarterbacks.
In year one, he had Rocky Lombardi leading the way before Payton Thorne took over, and Noah Kim was in his first recruiting class that was basically sewn up before he took over. Thorne became a record-holder under center in 2021, and he landed Hampton Fay in the 2021 class who never panned out, but the 2022 cycle started his dominant two-year run recruiting the position.
In 2022, Tucker landed Katin Houser who was originally committed to Boise State, but a Michigan State offer swayed him to the green and white. He was also an under-the-radar recruit before Tucker got involved and then he earned an invite to the Elite 11 camp.
Not to be outdone by his 2022 haul, Tucker landed four-star gunslinger Sam Leavitt in 2023, and he was considered the most talented quarterback that he had ever signed.
Though Leavitt earned a ton of praise in the offseason before his freshman season, he sat third on the depth chart behind Kim and Hauser. Eventually, he got some shots, but it just wasn’t enough to keep him around through the coaching change and he left for Arizona State.
There, he beat out a former five-star for the starting job before the 2024 season, and then he led the Sun Devils to the College Football Playoff.
Now, he’s a legitimate Heisman candidate in his second full season as the Sun Devils’ starter.
According to FanDuel, Leavitt now has the 10th-best odds to win the Heisman Trophy in 2025, ahead of guys like Notre Dame’s CJ Carr, USC’s Jayden Maiava, Texas’ Arch Manning, and LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier. His stock has soared this season, and it’s only a matter of time before he’s playing on Sundays.
So for all the hate Tucker gets, he should be praised for his ability to spot quarterback talent. Unfortunately, those quarterbacks just never panned out in East Lansing.