Mel Tucker: 'Every position is open' as MSU begins spring practice
Michigan State football begins spring practice on Tuesday morning. Head coach Mel Tucker spoke to the media on Monday ahead of the team's first spring practice of 2023.
The Spartans will practice on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays for five weeks. It will all culminate with the annual spring game on April 15.
Last season, MSU didn’t have a traditional 11-on-11 spring game due to not having enough players available because of injuries sustained during spring ball. It is unclear what the plan is for this year’s event.
“We have good numbers to start spring ball,” Tucker said at his press conference on Monday. “Whether we’re gonna have a (traditional) spring game or not, we’ll have to see because it really is based upon who’s available, how many healthy players we have.”
Injuries were a major problem for MSU during the 2022 fall campaign as well. Tucker and the rest of the coaching staff are hoping to cut down on the number of injuries in 2023, but that all starts with not overworking players in the spring.
“It’s still going to be a physical spring practice,” Tucker said. “Emphasis is going to be on technique, fundamentals and competition.”
An injury that hurt MSU’s defense from the get-go was linebacker Darius Snow. He suffered a season-ending leg injury during the first game of the 2022 season against Western Michigan.
Tucker is known to not share super in-depth details about injuries. Despite not being in-season, he still didn’t reveal much about how Snow’s recovery is going.
“He’s still sore,” Tucker said with a grin. “He’ll be ready when he’s ready.”
Just like past offseasons, Tucker made it known to the media that every position is “open” and that starting spots will be up for grabs all the way through fall camp.
“We have a lot of competition at a lot of positions,” Tucker said. “Every position is open. Some guys in our rep chart, they’ll start with the ones, but it may not end up being that way. We’re gonna play the best players and who’s most productive and who’s most consistent.”
The quarterback position is an area that draws much interest, which is understandable, given that the quarterback is often the most important player on a team. Fifth-year senior Payton Thorne has been the starting quarterback for two seasons now. After a strong 2021 campaign, his inconsistent play in 2022 has led many to believe that a new face should emerge as the leader of the offense.
“The quarterback position is an open competition,” Tucker said. “He (Payton Thorne) knows that, and all the other quarterbacks know that. Competition is good and we have to play the players that give us the best chance to win at every position. Quarterback is no different. We’re expecting a pretty fierce competition.”
Even though the first official spring practice begins on Tuesday, the players have been working out with strength and conditioning coach Jason Novak since January.
“The players have been working extremely hard in the out-of-season conditioning program with coach (Jason) Novak and his staff,” Tucker said.
Another coach that had a big impact on the team was pass rush specialist Brandon "BT" Jordan. Jordan took the same position with the Seattle Seahawks of the NFL.
“I think it’s an opportunity BT wanted to explore, and I told him that I was gonna support him 100 percent,” Tucker said. “That’s what happens this time of year.”
As a result of Jordan’s departure, Tucker is looking to fill the void on his staff. However, instead of hiring a coach to help out with the pass rush, he is actually looking to add somebody to assist in the defensive backfield.
“I’m looking to bring somebody in the secondary,” Tucker said. “I’m looking to get that done fairly quickly.”
Michigan State hired defensive line coach Diron Reynolds in January, and it appears that Reynolds will be solely responsible for that positional group.
Another change to the coaching staff occurred recently. Former MSU linebacker Antjuan Simmons, who played from 2017 through 2020, is now a graduate assistant on Tucker’s staff. Simmons recorded 230 tackles, 26 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks in his four seasons for the Spartans.
“I thought about that when he was here as a player,” Tucker said about Simmons becoming a coach down the road. “I thought he would make a really good coach at some point.”
One of the top players for MSU defensively last season was Jacoby Windmon. He played defensive end and linebacker in 2022. Windmon recorded 49 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks last season in eight games played. Tucker noted that Windmon will play linebacker in spring ball.
Tucker has had an up and down three seasons as the head coach of MSU. He went 2-5 in the shortened 2020 season, but bounced back win an 11-2 record and Peach Bowl victory in 2021. MSU followed that up with a 5-7 record in 2022.
Tucker is hoping that and he is team can learn from last year, and get better in 2023 and beyond.
“Sometimes you have to get beat up, you have to get your face kicked in before you can really lay the true foundation and that happened,” Tucker said. “I know our guys are gonna compete, they’re gonna fight.”