Jonathan Smith taking different approach to official visits than Mel Tucker

A year ago, Mel Tucker was in the middle of a damage control summer. His Spartans had just finished 5-7 and missed a bowl game right after going 11-2 the season before. He did his best to get the top recruits on campus and he rolled out the expensive cars and even had a chair fit for a king for recruits to take pictures in. But it didn't quite work out for him.

Tucker liked to swing for the fences with four and five-star recruits taking official visits to Michigan State and it felt like none really had any intention of considering the Spartans.

Now, Jonathan Smith faces his first official visit weekend in East Lansing and he's going to undoubtedly take a different approach.

Smith's targets are already much different. He's recruiting much more methodically and targeting guys who fit his system and who he and his staff can develop. This is more like what Mark Dantonio did rather than what Tucker did. And that's more than OK.

The Spartans don't have a single four-star recruit visiting this weekend, but there are a handful of guys who could flirt with four-star status before the end of their senior seasons. There's a lot of underrated guys with plenty of potential and players from the Midwest who fit the Michigan State mold. That's what Tucker got away from and that's what Smith is trying to restore.

On top of all of that, you can bet that there won't be any fancy cars on the Spartan Stadium turf this weekend for insane photoshoots with recruits. That flashy era is over. Smith is more of a "work while no one is watching" kind of guy and we may see a picture or two, but nothing like we did during the short-lived Tucker era.

Smith is bringing the Michigan State culture back to life.