East Lansing, Mich. — Michigan State head football coach Mel Tucker returned to his weekly radio show Thursday night after missing last week’s due to the letter winner’s ceremony on campus.

Tucker interviewed sixth-year senior guard Matt Carrick, talked about the physicality of Michigan State’s secondary and previewed the upcoming road trip to Washington.

Here are the details.

Tucker interviewed Carrick midway through the show, and Spartan fans learned about Carrick’s off-field hobbies just as much as his goals for the season.

“I recently just joined the MSU Fishing Club,” said Carrick, who grew up fishing with his dad. “Coach Tucker actually brought those guys in to talk to us, it was kind of funny. But they’ve been showing me a lot of different ways, and they actually compete at the College Bass Tour and different stuff like that. I like to think I know what I’m doing until I’m around those guys, and then they just blow it out of the park.”

During August camp, Carrick mentioned that he does some fishing in the Red Cedar River while on campus. Nothing he’s encountered at Michigan State compares to his biggest catch, though.

“I was in the Outer Banks, surf fishing,” Carrick said. “I ended up catching a stingray. It took me about 45 minutes to reel it in. It was a pretty good fight.”

Carrick also had experience working on an animal farm this summer.

“I worked on university farms driving pretty much big tractors around,” Carrick said. “It was a lot of fun, just something different, away from football. Just something to keep me busy.”

Despite being an active outdoorsman outside of practice, Carrick’s primary focus is still on the gridiron.

“Hopefully it’s just playing in the NFL and that’s it, you know,” Carrick said when asked of his post-college ambitions. “Most guys want to hope for that, but I’m not sure, we’ll see what happens with it all.”

Carrick is one step closer to his goals after recovering from a right leg injury he sustained last season. He played mostly in a reserve role at right guard in 2021 after Kevin Jarvis returned for a fully healthy season.

Carrick said he’s grateful for another opportunity to play in the green and white.

“It was amazing,” Carrick said of his return to the field on opening night. “Just seeing all the fans out there and knowing that this is it, this is the last time I get to go around with this team, this coaching staff. Just absolutely unbelievable emotion coming out there and playing in that first game. I’m excited for the many more weeks to come.”

Now, as one of the oldest and most experienced members of Michigan State’s offensive line, Carrick has been tasked with providing consistency and leadership within the unit - something that comes with the territory, Carrick said.

"I think o-line is a very unique position because it’s basically the only position in football where you don’t touch the ball,” Carrick said. “It’s really a selfless position where you have to be willing to do your job and help the guys around you. That’s one of the big things with being an o-lineman, especially having the ability to protect your teammates.”

Carrick has started both games this season at right guard. The group has been solid overall, Tucker said.

“Another indication of winning or losing is rushing touchdowns,” Tucker said. “You have to be able to win in the trenches. We all know it starts up front with the offensive line. We talk about all the time, Coach Kap does a heck of a job with those guys. His players, they believe in him. He coaches toughness and physicality in the trenches. [Jarrett] Horst was in there, J.D. [Duplain], [Nick] Samac, Spencer Brown. These are big, physical guys that are playing behind their pads and moving folks.”

The offensive line has already provided transfer running back duo Jalen Berger and Jarek Broussard plenty of opportunities to break through holes and get to the end zone. The pair has combined for 362 yards and six touchdowns through two games this season.

“Those guys [Berger and Broussard] are doing a great job running behind their pads, getting yards after contact and making guys miss as well,” Tucker said. “Those guys, they want the ball. They want the ball. They know that they’re going to have some opportunities behind a really good offensive line. Our tight ends do an awesome job blocking, and the receivers. They’re ready to put their face in the fan because they know, ‘no block, no rock.’”

The improvement of Michigan State’s secondary will be key against Washington and throughout the rest of the season. Tucker feels the group is doing a good job so far.

“[Defensive coordinator] Scottie Hazelton has done a phenomenal job with this group of guys,” Tucker said. “I like the way our guys are playing. We play a lot of guys, the first couple of games we played 18, 19 guys on defense. We’re able to roll guys in the front seven, the d-line but also at the linebacker position. They play extremely hard. They understand more about the defense than they did a year ago, so they’re able to play fast, they know where their help is.

“We’re starting to be more physical. We were more physical in week two than we were in week one. The secondary, so far, is doing their job. You know, staying on top and not giving up explosive plays, which gives us a chance to get people stops.”

A breakout member of that secondary is senior safety Kendell Brooks. The hard-hitting Brooks has the build of a linebacker but is filling in for the injured Xavier Henderson at safety. In his first start as a Spartan, Brooks registered seven tackles, a pass breakup and a forced fumble.

“Thank god for KB,” Tucker said. “He’s worked really hard since he’s been here. We always tell the players, ‘We need everyone.’ We need everyone to not just be ready, but be prepared. He was extremely prepared, and when he got his opportunity to go in the game he made the most of it. He’s made plays for us, he’s been consistent. We’re able to still play at a high level with very little dropoff because of KB and how he approaches the game and his preparation.”

Tucker said he’s been impressed with the starting cornerbacks as well.

“Ameer [Speed], he’s a veteran player,”​ Tucker said. “I mean I’ve known this kid since he was, like, 15-years-old. I’m really proud of him, he works really hard. He’s become a leader for us and he’s holding it down the edge pretty good for us. He’s a willing tackler in run support, and he’s always working to get better. He knows that he’s going to be tested this week.

“Chuck Brantley, I don’t know what you can say about that guy. He plays the game the way it’s meant to be played. He’s extremely physical, he brings a lot of energy to it. I know he can’t wait to get out there.”

These three will have to continue to provide physicality in the secondary for Michigan State to equal the explosiveness of Washington’s offensive attack.

“You can’t play great football here at Michigan State without playing great defense, and that’s the expectation,” Tucker said.

Tucker touched on the importance of cultivating a family of Michigan State football players, past and present.

Head basketball coach Tom Izzo just hosted his program’s “grind week,” in which former players return for a few days of practice and camaraderie with the current team. Tucker knows the significance of something like that to his own program.

“In order to have the type of program that we know that we need to have, our former players have to be a big part of it,” Tucker said. “It’s a part of our tradition and history. Those guys have put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into this program and we wouldn’t be able to do what we do if it weren’t for them. The thing I love about it is accountability, because they’re always around. We have an open-door policy. They come to practice, they come to the games and I get tremendous feedback. If it doesn't look like it’s supposed to look, I hear about it, and I appreciate that.”

Speaking of past players, Tucker talked about how former Michigan State receiver Muhsin Muhammad, who played in East Lansing from 1992-95, recommended that the program take a look at Kendell Brooks as he was transferring from Divison II North Greenville University.

Safe to say that decision is paying off now.

Tucker is fully aware of the Big Ten’s reputation in west coast games. Historically, Michigan State and its conference counterparts have fared poorly out there. But​ Tucker and his staff are doing all they can to prepare Michigan State for the trip.

“It’s critically important,” Tucker said of the teams’ travel preparation. “The sports science says we need to get to bed an hour early each day this week and I believe our guys have done that. We have protocols that are in place for our travel and on the plane and once we get there. And what time we go to bed and then when we get up and what we do, and we’re going to try and stay on our same body clock.”

Travel is one side of the coin, but Michael Penix, Jr. and the Washington offense present another challenge for Michigan State. Penix, Jr. ranks in the Top 15 nationally in both passing yards and touchdowns in the early going, and Washington’s offense is averaging 48.5 points per game.

“He’s playing at a very high level right now,” Tucker said of Penix, Jr. “He’s one of the leaders in the nation in passing. Their offense, they’re scoring a lot of points. They’re putting up some huge numbers. We saw him in the COVID year when he was at Indiana. Left-handed, very strong arm. He’s mobile, and he’s got a lot of experience now. The offense they run suits him very well. He’s playing at a super high level and he’s going to put a lot of pressure on our defense.”

On the other hand, Michigan State redshirt junior quarterback Payton Thorne knows he will need to be sharper for the Spartans to compete against Washington on Saturday. Thorne was critical of himself after the Akron game last week, but Tucker remains confident in his starter.

“Payton does an incredible job of getting us in and out of the right plays based upon the fronts and looks that we see so that we can be efficient and give our running game a chance,”​​ Tucker said. “It’s all up to him. We’ll send a plan and then he’ll look at the front and he’ll decide if we’re going to stay in that play or if we’re going to go to something else. He’s a great decision maker. He runs the show, he has command of the offense.

“It’s not something the people talk about a lot, but nowadays, you can’t just call plays and run them. You’ve got to be able to check them at the line because the defenses, they’re so complicated, they give you so many different fronts. Our quarterbacks do a great job.”

Despite his inconsistencies throwing the ball, Thorne called a few key audibles during the week-one Western Michigan game to move the chains. Given how close that game was in the third quarter, Thorne’s decision-making skills worked to the Spartans’ advantage.

Aside from Thorne’s continued improvement, Tucker noted a few keys for Saturday’s game.

“Taking care of the football, that’s number one,” Tucker said. “Turnover margin is huge. We have to be very opportunistic on offense, to take what the defense gives us. We have to make sure we have balance in our game plan. We have to be able to run the football efficiently, that gives us balance, sets up our play-action. We’re going to have to make some big plays, as well. On special teams, we have to be flawless. We have to run and hit, but we have to win that battle of field position, that’s going to be huge. Defensively, we’re going to have to make sure we don’t give up explosive plays, and their offense is built for explosives.”

Tucker realizes the challenging nature of playing on the west coast. He said his players are prepared for it, and he’s looking forward to seeing what they can do in Seattle.

“We’re trending upward, but again, it’s going to be a tall task for us this weekend,” Tucker said. “But the guys have had a really good week of practice and I’m confident that they’re going to show up and play good football for us.”