This week marks the official beginning of the 2023 Big Ten college football season as coaches and media gather in Indianapolis, Indiana for the 51st annual Big Ten Football Media Days at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Michigan State head coach Mel Tucker had a chance to address the media gaggle during the morning press conference.
"We have a hungry, determined, and very, very focused football team heading into preseason camp,” coach Tucker said to open the press conference. “Our players have worked extremely hard in this off season and are very, very well prepared to start camp next week. We have competition at every single position, and probably no doubt the most talent that we've had top to bottom on our roster.
“We needed more quality depth on our roster, and we addressed that this out of season,” he continued. “I believe competition forces you to be at your best each and every day, and that's how we'll reach our full potential.
“Again, we're really, really hungry and excited to get going,” Coach Tucker said to wrap up his opening statement. “I know one thing about this group of players and this group of coaches, we're going to roll our sleeves up and come to work every single day with a relentless mindset. We have three core values at Michigan State: tough, disciplined, and selfless. That's what we're all about.”
Team Chemistry and the Purple Elephant in the Room
Throughout the morning session, each coach was directly or indirectly asked about the hazing scandal at Northwestern University. Coach Tucker used this and other questions to highlight what he believes is strong team chemistry in East Lansing.
“Our culture is very strong, and our culture starts with connection and authentic relationships and mutual respect,” Tucker said. “We do have an anti-hazing policy at the university and on our football team. Our players know that. I talked to our athletics director, Alan Haller, and that's going to be one of the topics we cover when we report to camp next Wednesday.”
Coach Tucker mentioned team chemistry throughout the morning.
“I believe we have more team chemistry going into this season, which is very important,” Tucker said in his opening statement. “We've done more team-building activities and events than we've ever done. It's really brought our team close together, not just the players, but the coaches and the support staff as well.”
Tucker was asked later to expand upon the team building activities that took place over the summer.
“Just whether they're dinners or dodgeball tournaments or kickball games or going to movies and things, just activities, just getting our guys together along with the staff, getting to know each other, especially when you have so many newcomers every year, whether it's the freshmen or the transfer guys,” Tucker expounded.
Notably, media did not ask Tucker if he or the team had set aside time to watch current box office hits "Barbie" or "Oppenheimer." Earlier in the morning, Illinois head coach Bret Bielema was asked about seeing "Barbie," but the Illini head coach notably has two young daughters. Bielema implied they were more interested in the live-action "Little Mermaid" remake instead.
“It's important that we connect," Tucker added regarding team chemistry. "We want the players to get to know each other outside of football. We've organized more of those activities than we've ever done, and in addition to that, the players have done things on their own, which is even more significant.
"We've also brought in outside firms that come in and work with our players on team building and leadership and team cohesiveness. With all those things, I feel like our team is closer than we've ever been.”
Lessons Learned from Last Year
It is no secret that the Spartans had a disappointing 2022 season. In Tucker’s opening remarks, he said that last year was “a tremendous learning experience for us, not just for the players, but for the coaches and the support staff.”
Tucker was asked to elaborate on the specific things that the Michigan State staff can do better or differently in 2023. He notably focused on team health in his answer.
“Football is a game of attrition, and injury is a part of the game,” Tucker said. “We had to modify the way we practice. We wanted to make sure we can get our players to the games. So, we changed the way we did some things in spring ball, which was very effective -- how we hit, when we hit, how often we hit. We did a much better job of staying up and staying off the ground."
Michigan State suffered several injuries to its offensive line that prevented the unit from fully utilizing spring practices in 2022 ahead of the fall season. Then the defensive side of the ball suffered several injuries as well during the fall campaign.
“The studies that we did with our team in the out of season showed that, when players are on the ground in practice, that's when they get hurt the most,” Tucker continued. “So, we just modified the way we did some things in spring ball, which really helped us be more productive, keep guys more healthy, staying on the field and getting better. We're going to carry that into fall camp. I think that's going to be a huge benefit for us moving forward.”
As for the defense specifically, Coach Tucker said, “We're a lot healthier now, and we're at full strength.”
Playing at Ford Field
One of the most intense debates among Spartan fans in the off season was the relocation of the final game of the season against Penn State to Ford Field. Coach Tucker was asked about the pluses and minuses of giving up this home game.
“This season is going to be a tremendous opportunity for our players, great exposure for our program, a national audience in a pro football arena, which I think is going to be great for our team,” Tucker stated. “It's going to be a great game. We'll be in the Detroit area where we recruit. We have a lot of fans there.”
Quick Update on a few Spartan players
Coach Tucker was also asked to provide an update on a few positions groups that will be crucial for the 2023 season. First off, Tucker was asked about Noah Kim’s ability to compete for the starting quarterback position.
“Noah is a tremendously talented young man,” Tucker said. “He's a winner. He's got a lot of arm talent. He's very poised. He's very athletic. He's one of the fastest players on our team. He's got some experience.
“When he went in games last season, as you remember, he made it look easy. He's got the demeanor we're looking for. He's a guy that knows our offense, and he's going to do what we ask him to do. He's going to execute.”
When Tucker was asked later about the steps needed for the Spartan defense to improve this fall, he focused on the guys in the front seven.
“We really addressed some issues with our front seven,” Tucker said. “We needed to get bigger. We've added three 6'5", 300-plus defensive tackles that have all played major college football. We added four defensive ends, three of them are four stars, and one, Tunmise Adeleye, a transfer from Texas A&M, who walked in the door at 280.
“Then Aaron Brule decided to come back, Jacoby Windmon decided to come back for another year, along with Cal Haladay. And then Jordan Hall had a really good spring. And Ma'a Gaoteote is still there. I think our front seven is more stout, which is going to help us stop the run and make things more one dimensional, and it's going to help us on the back end.”
In the afternoon session at Big Ten Media Days, the media will have an additional chance to talk to Coach Tucker as well as offensive lineman J.D. Duplain, receiver Tre Mosley, and linebacker Cal Haladay. Stay tuned to Spartans Illustrated for continuing coverage of Big Ten Football Media Days.
