Came from the The Athletic,usually the mods let me post excepts; this is just part of a q&a about Tucker
Why I was wrong about Mel Tucker and Michigan State: Recruiting mailbag
Any comment on the type of recruits Mel tucker is getting to campus or are you still under the wrong assumption we’re plucking under-recruited two-stars from Ohio like you said in your January mailbag? — Christopher C.
One of the things that is forever burned into the frontal lobe of my brain from the time I covered Ohio State was just how good Mark Dantonio was at his job. I’m not necessarily sure how the Michigan State faithful view him in the present day, but for my money, there isn’t a coach who got more out of his program than Dantonio did during those fun stretches in East Lansing a half-decade ago.
So when I make comments about Michigan State targeting three-star prospects in Ohio, the intent isn’t to be disparaging. You have to remember that I had a front-row seat to watch Michigan State recruit that way, develop those players and knock off Ohio State multiple times en route to Big Ten titles. When Michigan State hired Tucker — an Ohio native with stints at Ohio State and Alabama on his resume — it was a safe assumption that he would be able to go into Ohio and clean up the same way Dantonio did. If you Google it, I think you’ll find that I wrote that I’d take Tucker at Michigan over Jim Harbaugh. You can imagine those comments didn’t go over well.
But I have something to admit: I was wrong. And it honestly feels good to say that sometimes.
Tucker will go into Ohio and get his guys. Even if he didn’t do so in the 2022 cycle, Ohio is too crucial of a recruiting territory for Michigan State not to attack. And they’ll attack it well. The thing I was wrong about? Tucker’s approach. Tucker is going big. As of a few weeks ago, no other program in college football has more talent locked in for official visits.
This weekend alone, Michigan State is set to host five-star offensive tackle Samson Okunlola of Braintree (Mass.) Thayer Academy, four-star cornerback Caleb Presely of Seattle (Wash.) Rainier Beach, four-star defensive lineman Enow Etta of Colleyville (Texas) Covenant Christian Academy, four-star safety Ryan Yaites of Denton (Texas) Guyer, four-star linebacker Jamal Anderson of Hoschton (Ga.) Mill Creek and four-star linebacker Jordan Hall of Bradenton (Fla.) IMG. Every one of those players is rated in the top 200 nationally.
That’s a national recruiting strategy. That’s what the big boys do.
I have to say, this is what you want to see from Michigan State if it is going to pay its coach $100 million. Tucker is the fourth-highest-paid coach in college football, and with that comes the expectation that the Spartans are going to be one of the best programs in the Big Ten. And in some years, beat Ohio State, win the Big Ten title and go to the College Football Playoff — the same way Dantonio did.
For me to say that Michigan State was going to go the developmental route and focus on Ohio was misguided. That’s the strategy I would take because I’ve seen it work, but maybe that’s not the $100 million strategy. Maybe Tucker wants more.
There’s a risk with that. If Michigan State spends this much time and resources recruiting nationally only to finish second in the bulk of these pursuits, things could get bad. It’s important to have a hat on the table. But it’s even more important to be the hat these elite-level prospects choose.
In the 2022 cycle, Michigan State signed the No. 199 overall player — four-star defensive lineman Alex VanSumeren of Essexville (Mich.) Garber. He was the only top-200 player in the entire class. That’s not good enough.
In the current cycle, Michigan State has a commitment from four-star defensive lineman Andrew Depaepe of Bettendorf (Iowa) Pleasant Valley, the No. 150 overall player. He’s the only top-200 player in the class so far. That’s not good enough, either. But it’s way too early in the cycle — with plenty of visits ahead — to cast judgment in June. Michigan State, of course, hopes that the number of official visits it has planned directly correlates to commitments and ultimately signatures. This cycle will be huge for Michigan State, and I’m excited to see how it all turns out.
For now, I’m sorry for being wrong. I’m human.
Why I was wrong about Mel Tucker and Michigan State: Recruiting mailbag
Any comment on the type of recruits Mel tucker is getting to campus or are you still under the wrong assumption we’re plucking under-recruited two-stars from Ohio like you said in your January mailbag? — Christopher C.
One of the things that is forever burned into the frontal lobe of my brain from the time I covered Ohio State was just how good Mark Dantonio was at his job. I’m not necessarily sure how the Michigan State faithful view him in the present day, but for my money, there isn’t a coach who got more out of his program than Dantonio did during those fun stretches in East Lansing a half-decade ago.
So when I make comments about Michigan State targeting three-star prospects in Ohio, the intent isn’t to be disparaging. You have to remember that I had a front-row seat to watch Michigan State recruit that way, develop those players and knock off Ohio State multiple times en route to Big Ten titles. When Michigan State hired Tucker — an Ohio native with stints at Ohio State and Alabama on his resume — it was a safe assumption that he would be able to go into Ohio and clean up the same way Dantonio did. If you Google it, I think you’ll find that I wrote that I’d take Tucker at Michigan over Jim Harbaugh. You can imagine those comments didn’t go over well.
But I have something to admit: I was wrong. And it honestly feels good to say that sometimes.
Tucker will go into Ohio and get his guys. Even if he didn’t do so in the 2022 cycle, Ohio is too crucial of a recruiting territory for Michigan State not to attack. And they’ll attack it well. The thing I was wrong about? Tucker’s approach. Tucker is going big. As of a few weeks ago, no other program in college football has more talent locked in for official visits.
This weekend alone, Michigan State is set to host five-star offensive tackle Samson Okunlola of Braintree (Mass.) Thayer Academy, four-star cornerback Caleb Presely of Seattle (Wash.) Rainier Beach, four-star defensive lineman Enow Etta of Colleyville (Texas) Covenant Christian Academy, four-star safety Ryan Yaites of Denton (Texas) Guyer, four-star linebacker Jamal Anderson of Hoschton (Ga.) Mill Creek and four-star linebacker Jordan Hall of Bradenton (Fla.) IMG. Every one of those players is rated in the top 200 nationally.
That’s a national recruiting strategy. That’s what the big boys do.
I have to say, this is what you want to see from Michigan State if it is going to pay its coach $100 million. Tucker is the fourth-highest-paid coach in college football, and with that comes the expectation that the Spartans are going to be one of the best programs in the Big Ten. And in some years, beat Ohio State, win the Big Ten title and go to the College Football Playoff — the same way Dantonio did.
For me to say that Michigan State was going to go the developmental route and focus on Ohio was misguided. That’s the strategy I would take because I’ve seen it work, but maybe that’s not the $100 million strategy. Maybe Tucker wants more.
There’s a risk with that. If Michigan State spends this much time and resources recruiting nationally only to finish second in the bulk of these pursuits, things could get bad. It’s important to have a hat on the table. But it’s even more important to be the hat these elite-level prospects choose.
In the 2022 cycle, Michigan State signed the No. 199 overall player — four-star defensive lineman Alex VanSumeren of Essexville (Mich.) Garber. He was the only top-200 player in the entire class. That’s not good enough.
In the current cycle, Michigan State has a commitment from four-star defensive lineman Andrew Depaepe of Bettendorf (Iowa) Pleasant Valley, the No. 150 overall player. He’s the only top-200 player in the class so far. That’s not good enough, either. But it’s way too early in the cycle — with plenty of visits ahead — to cast judgment in June. Michigan State, of course, hopes that the number of official visits it has planned directly correlates to commitments and ultimately signatures. This cycle will be huge for Michigan State, and I’m excited to see how it all turns out.
For now, I’m sorry for being wrong. I’m human.
