Michigan State's Mel Tucker saw ‘a lot of good things’ in first scrimmage

Michigan State had another practice on Monday, its 10th of 2023 fall camp, which followed the Spartans' first team scrimmage this past Saturday.

On Monday afternoon, head coach Mel Tucker provided updates about the scrimmage, how the team is progressing and more.

"We had our first scrimmage on Saturday," Tucker said. "A lot of good things on offense, defense and special teams. We had some guys step up and make some plays in all three phases. Went through a lot of situations — third down, red zone, two-minute (drill), a lot of special teams — we got a lot of work done.

"The quarterbacks played well, competed, all three of them (Noah Kim, Katin Houser and Sam Leavitt) made plays. We have to get better this week, so that's what we're doing."

Tucker noted that the coaches were on the sideline or up in the booth during the scrimmage, except for assistant head coach/offensive line coach/run game coordinator Chris Kapilovic, who was on the field.

At this point in camp, the coaches are still evaluating their team and figuring out who is going to play where. Tucker was asked how much weight goes into evaluating scrimmages.

According to Tucker, the scrimmages are important to see where his guys stand in a game-like scenario.

"Quite a bit because it's the closest to the game that we can get," Tucker said when asked how much weight goes into evaluating scrimmages. "Some guys do well in meetings and practice, they have hard time carrying it over to games. Those scrimmage reps sometimes carry a little bit more weight. It's not everything, it's a part of the picture, though, part of the puzzle. We're trying to figure out who can help us and what their roles are gonna be."

With that in mind, the coaching staff is still going to use this week to see how things develop leading up to the Spartans' second scrimmage this coming Saturday (Aug. 19).

It's after the second scrimmage where Tucker and his coaches will start to put together the first-stringers and second-stringers on the depth chart, and develop the scout team.

"The separation (on the roster) becomes more clear, typically after that second scrimmage," Tucker said. "Then, midway through the next week is when we start to develop scout teams. You can't rep threes (third-stringers) and fours (fourth-stringers), during game week, you just don't have enough time. With the 20-hour (practice) rule, we can't be out there all day. At that point, it's kind of, 'Here's the two-deep,' for now."

Tucker was quick to point out that if a player doesn't immediately make the two-deep after the second scrimmage, that does not mean that player cannot move up the depth chart later on, but that is the time when the staff is starting to make decisions.

Tucker was also asked about who has been stepping up as playmakers for MSU's offense throughout fall camp. The head coach named several guys who made plays during this past weekend's scrimmage and have been doing so throughout August.

Having an abundance of playmakers is not something that Tucker is worried about. Health, executing plays and playing together as a team is what he is looking for.

"Like I said, all three quarterbacks made plays," Tucker said about the scrimmage and recent practices. "Tre Mosley was making plays every day. Montorie Foster is coming up big every day. Christian Fitzpatrick is looking good. He's a big, tall receiver who has developed. He's doing a great job on the special teams also. (Antonio) Gates (Jr.) is making plays, (Jaron) Glover's making plays, Tyrell Henry's making plays. Our tight ends, Maliq Carr is a big target. He makes plays when he's out there. Our (running) backs are making plays. (Nathan) Carter broke a long one (in the scrimmage on Saturday), he broke another one today (in practice).

"I don't think we have a shortage of playmakers. It's gonna be about execution and staying healthy. We've gotta get the horses to the race, we've gotta keep them out there."

Also notable, similar to what offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Jay Johnson said last week, Tucker said it's "possible" Michigan State decides to play two quarterbacks in early games this season, but nothing has been decided there as of yet.