East Lansing, Mich. — Mel Tucker returned to his Thursday radio show to discuss Michigan State’s test against Ohio State and interview tight end Tyler Hunt.

As challenging as Michigan State's schedule has been so far, it’s about to get even tougher with Ohio State coming to town on Saturday. The third-ranked Buckeyes feature one of the best offensive attacks in the nation, led by quarterback C.J. Stroud.

Stroud has racked up 1,376 yards, 18 touchdowns and two interceptions through five games this year. The Buckeyes rank third nationally in total offense with 526.9 yards per game. Needless to say, containing the Stroud-led offense is a tall task for any defense, let alone Michigan State’s, which has struggled since the Washington game.

“They’re very well coached, they’re very talented on offense, defense and special teams,” Tucker said of Ohio State. “On offense, they’re very balanced. They score almost 50 points a game, they can throw it and they can run it. Their quarterback is a first round pick type guy, might be the best quarterback in the country. The defense, they have a new defensive coordinator. He’s doing a nice job with them. They're playing fast. They’re very talented.”

Tucker knows that his team will have to be firing on all cylinders if they want to upset Ohio State. There were improvements against Maryland on defense, but the whole team will have to come together and play sharp, complimentary football to beat the Buckeyes, as Tucker often says.

“Obviously we have to take care of the football,” Tucker said. “We need to generate more takeaways on defense. Turnover margin is going to be huge in this game. Offensively, we need to be able to create some explosive plays, whether it’s in the run game or the pass game. Defensively, just hold them to low numbers. We get to third down, we have to find a way to get off the field. That’s going to be critically important. Special teams, we have to be flawless. We can’t have any mishaps in any part of the kicking game.”

That being said, Tucker is confident that certain players will build off their performances from last week, even against a formidable Buckeye team.

“The offense started fast last week and we wanted to do that,” Tucker said. “We just have to be more consistent throughout the game and we have to make more explosive plays. Payton Thorne had 220 yards and one touchdown. I feeI like he’s poised to have a big game. Elijah Collins, we’ve talked about him. He’s worked really hard in practice. He had a great offseason, and when he’s gotten in the game and he’s gotten the ball, he’s been very, very productive. I mean, he runs really hard. I’m looking forward to seeing more of him.

“J-Reed [wide receiver Jayden Reed], he’s getting healthier. I feel like in the return game and also at the wide receiver position, he’s going to be explosive.”

With the week of practice they’ve had, and because some of the adjustments they’ve made on defense, Tucker is confident that his team’s best football is still to come.

“I believe the offense is ready to come alive,” Tucker said. “We’re getting healthier on that side of the ball. And then defensively, we made some changes, some adjustments personnel- and scheme-wise, and we’re starting to show some improvements. So I feel like our best 60 [minutes] is ahead of us.

“Complementary football. Guys are going to play hard. Guys believe in what we’re doing, very focused. I feel good going into the game.”

A sixth-year senior, Hunt's led an unconventional path to becoming Michigan State's starting tight end. He tried out as a walk-on punter in 2017, unfamiliar with the Michigan State program.

“Originally I was just a student, I didn’t have any contact with the coaching staff, really,” Hunt said. “Just an email from me asking when the tryouts were and an email responding, ‘it’s this date.’ But I remember, outside the stadium where the band practices and plays, I used to go out there on the field and practice kicking and stuff. Just being out there and looking at the stadium, it just kind of gave me a little extra incentive to just keep practicing, and then one day it would pay off.”

Hunt made the team after the Notre Dame game in 2017, but didn’t switch positions until Tucker arrived.

“I finally switched positions in 2020 when you guys came in, the new coaching staff,” Hunt said. “It just gave me a fresh start, a new opportunity to switch from a kicker, a punter - which I had never just been that before. I always did a bunch of things in high school. Having a fresh start and starting on the same ground as everybody else, learning a new playbook, it was fortunate. I’m blessed to have that opportunity.”

Hunt played nearly every position in high school, from quarterback, linebacker, safety, punter and kick returner. Even so, it took some time for him to put on the weight needed to make the transition.

“It was definitely a struggle at first,” Hunt said. “I think blocking was the one thing I didn’t do in high school. I always had the ball in my hands, running it, handing it off, or throwing it. So blocking was something I never really had to do. I would hit and stuff like that on defense, but I never knew the technicalities of blocking. Being 216 pounds, I learned pretty quick that that wasn't going to work out. So the coaching staff and the nutritionist, Amber [Rinestine], they put a lot of emphasis on me gaining the weight and being able to hold up there a little more firm.”

Now entrenched in the tight end room, Hunt has had two years to get acquainted with his teammates and tight ends coach Ted Gilmore, who arrived at Michigan State in 2020.

“Coach Gilmore’s a funny guy,” Hunt said. “He's probably one of the calmest coaches on our coaching staff. But he does a really good job with us. I think you’d have to, with the group of tight ends that we have.”

Gilmore has deployed multiple tight ends this season, primarily Hunt, Illinois transfer Daniel “DJ” Barker and redshirt sophomore Maliq Carr. Gilmore’s stoic demeanor is vital in managing a personality-filled tight end room, Hunt said.

“I think it’s a little bit like a circus,” Hunt said. “You’ve got a little bit of everything. You’ve got Evan [Morris], he’s a pretty serious dude. DJ, I’m pretty sure he was on the show a couple weeks ago. And then me and Maliq, Maliq’s another one of those high energy guys like DJ. I think all the different personalities we have in that room, it comes together in a pretty cool way and we all get along pretty well.”

Speaking of circuses, Hunt grew up with 12 other siblings in his house in Gobles, Mich. He’s dealt with all kinds of personalities, so the tight end room is nothing new to him.

“Growing up, it was a little bit of a dogfight for me. I never had to worry about other bullies at school because I’d just go home, and there my brothers and sisters were,” Hunt joked. “But it was fun growing up with a lot of older brothers and sisters. You learn a lot from their mistakes and what they do well. Luckily, I was able to learn a lot from them. So it was pretty fun. I think I took a lot of life lessons from them on what not to do and what to do.”

Having learned from his siblings and being in the Michigan State program for six years, Hunt has taken on a bit of a leadership role himself this season.

“Being one of the older guys, I think it’s important for me to kind of be heard and talk to the younger guys,” Hunt said. “Especially in times, you know, when it’s crunch time and we might not be doing so hot, I think it’s important for me as one of the older guys on the team to kind of step up. I’ve been through some seasons before that haven’t gone so well and learned from the leaders that were here before me. Just learning from them, I think it’s important for me to put my input out there.”

Hunt graduated with a bachelor’s degree in agribusiness last May, the same degree that Tucker earned from the University of Wisconsin in 1995. While Hunt said he’ll likely stay away from coaching when he’s older, he does want to get involved in sports in a different way.

“I think I want to be, eventually, an athletic director some day,” Hunt said. “I really thought about the high school level because when I was getting recruited, I didn't have a lot of people helping me out. So I think I might want to go that route and just help kids that are maybe underrecruited, maybe from smaller schools, helping them get recognized with some of the connections that I’ve made.”