If Mel Tucker wanted to hide his hand and not reveal much about his football team during spring practice, then he was successful.

Most head coaches conclude Spring Practice by conducting Spring Games which enable them to assess strengths and weaknesses of their teams and thereby set the table for summer workouts, but Mel Tucker chose another path.

Mel Tucker curiously opted for two hours of “practice drills” which was gratuitously advertised as “Spring Football Kickoff”. I said gratuitously because there was no Kickoff and there was no game!

I guess Mel Tucker thought “practice drills” would be a novel way to conclude Spring practice because here is what he said immediately afterward:

“We won today.

Nobody’s going to give me any congrats on the win?” (unquote).

That comment was followed with a wry or cynical laugh…but personally, I didn’t find any humor in his glib comment.

If Coach Tucker has forgotten, his team finished with an abysmal 3-6 Big Ten record last season underscored by an inept Rush Offense that averaged just 113 YPG and a dysfunctional Rush Defense that yielded 179 YPG. and both units ranked essentially at the bottom of the Big Ten.

In fact, I would argue Rush Offense and Rush Defense are bellwether indicators of strength and/or weakness at the Line of Scrimmage, and Mel Tucker put forth two of the worst units in the land last season, so, where’s the humor about not conducting a Spring Game?

After all, virtually every top coach in the country concludes spring practice with a purposeful Spring Game, but not Mel Tucker. For his part, Mel Tucker conducted an afternoon of “practice drills”.

Let me try to describe it…

It was a beautiful spring day in mid-April, the temperatures were uncharacteristically in the mid 80’s and in most ways, it was an idyllic and magical spring day.

It would have been correct for Terry Braverman to announce in his inimitable way:

“It’s a beeutifullll dayyyy for football!!”.

Of course, it would have been a beautiful day for football, except Mel Tucker opted for “Practice Drills” in lieu of a Spring Game. Think about that? As a head football coach earning more than $9 Mn per year, Mel Tucker roamed the football field and conducted Practice Drills?

Let’s remember, there is a reason “why” the best coaches in the land conduct Spring Games at the conclusion of 14 Spring Practices.

After all, the Spring Game is the setting whereby Head Coaches and their staffs assess “strengths and weaknesses” of their teams in game like simulation and thereby set the table for instruction and improvement throughout the summer.

Of course, the top 3 Coaches in Big Ten East conducted Spring Games and here is an overview:

• On April 1, Jim Harbaugh oversaw Michigan’s Spring Game whereby the Maize beat the Blue 22-21.
• On Saturday, April 15 (last Saturday) Ryan Day conducted Ohio State Spring Game whereby the Gray beat the Scarlet 40-31 as 75,000 knowledgeable partisans observed the action.
• Also on April 15, James Franklin guided Penn State thru their Spring Game in front of a huge crowd as the Blue beat the White 10-0.

Consequently Jim Harbaugh, Ryan Day and James Franklin have an abundance of video to utilize for summer instruction.

Meanwhile, on an idyllic Spring Day, Michigan State opened the gates at Spartans Stadium with great anticipation, a vibrant yet modest crowd of 15,000 or so came out to watch the Spartans, but instead of a game, Mel Tucker treated Spartan fans to an assortment of “practice drills”.

There were obligatory “sprints” …there were “pass and catch” drills between QB and “undefended” receivers…and of course there were Offensive & Defensive drills.

There were drills whereby O-Linemen took two steps at half speed toward D-Linemen, yet touched and released.

And there were drills whereby D-Linemen took two steps at half speed toward O-Linemen, yet touched and released.

There were uncontested Punts & Field Goals, and in summary Mel Tucker conducted an aggregate of drills one would expect in warmups before an official Big Ten game, except there was no game!

Meanwhile, commentators from Big Ten Network did “heroic” work trying to keep viewers engaged as they tried to add drama to a multitude of mundane practice drills….

Let’s be honest, watching “practice drills” is hardly an electrifying drama that keeps fans on the edge of their seats.

Essentially, there was no competition, no creative game management, no chains, no clock, no stats, no scoreboard, and no way to measure anything.

There were a few 11 on 11 drills in scripted plays put forth just before the conclusion of Saturday’s practice which was a bit more enlightening than “practice drills” but it was impossible to discern strengths and weaknesses that are typically identified in game like conditions.

Of course, Spartan fans are smart, maybe smarter than the head coach because as the mundane drills droned on, fans slowly drifted for the exits because let’s be honest, on a brilliant spring afternoon there were better things to do than watch “practice drills”.

Big Ten Network understood the implications between good TV and bad TV.

BTN televised the Michigan game live, and televised the Ohio State game and Penn State game live as well, but BTN opted to broadcast “Spartan Practice Drills” on “tape delay” because even the most ardent fans aren’t interested in watching “practice drills” on TV.

 

At the bottom line (is Mel Tucker afraid to show his hand, or does he have a hand to show?)

If you think my commentary is a bit snarky and cynical then you would be right because I think Spartan fans deserve a championship caliber football product and, in my view, Mel Tucker has been a major disappointment.

Whether Mel Tucker had a full complement of players to conduct a Spring Game or if Mel Tucker was facing a roster shortage, it is what it is, and you play the hand you are dealt.

At any measure, Spartan fans deserve to see exactly what Mel Tucker and his staff have accomplished since last season, and Spartan fans deserve to know if Spartan Football is getting better or getting worse, and the best measuring tool is game like conditions, not practice drills.

Let’s remember, Mel Tucker is just 12-13 against Big Ten competition and just 15-19 (44%) in conference competition overall when we include his 3-6 losing campaign at Colorado.

Moreover, Mel Tucker has posted 3 losing seasons in 4 years as a head football coach and yet Mel Tucker is the second highest paid coach in Big Ten?

There’s something wrong with that picture.

By comparison, after just 4 years at Ohio State, Ryan Day has compiled an extraordinary record of 31-2 in Big Ten competition (94%) …including 3 Big Ten East titles and 4 Top 5 finishes so it’s no surprise he is the highest paid coach in Big Ten.

But why is Mel Tucker the second highest paid coach with a 12-13 Big Ten record or 15-19 overall? What type of compensation model is that?

There are many Spartan alumni and former players who read my missives that remember when Spartan Football was a dynasty during the 1950’s and 1960’s.

Yet there have been too many lean years. There were a few good years under Darryl Rogers, George Perles and Nick Saban, but too few to mention.

As a reminder, from the time Denny Stolz stepped down in 1975 until Mark Dantonio was hired in Dec 2006, Spartan Football compiled a dismal overall record of 174-177-7 with just 3 Big Ten titles and just 2 Top 10 finishes in 30 years.

Of course, Mark Dantonio gave us hope that a new foundation for Spartan Football had been built when he posted 3 consecutive Top 5 finishes in 2013, 2014 and 2015, and we thought success would bless Spartan Football for years to come.

Sadly, an unforeseen problem caused a dramatic change.

President, Lou Anna Simon was forced to step down due to the Larry Nassar drama. Equally discouraging was the departure of innovative AD Mark Hollis for the same reason, and in successive fall of dominos, Mark Dantonio stepped down because he was too weary to continue the fight without the help of Simon and Hollis, and suddenly Spartan Football became a rudderless ship without a Captain or crew.

Yet, we were told Mel Tucker could and would build a championship caliber team.

But 3 years after the fact, we are still waiting. Perhaps some fans are still hopeful that Coach Tucker can reach the Promised Land, but there is simply no precedent for a head coach to win a Big Ten Title as well as a National Title after posting 3 losing seasons in 4 years as a head football coach.

In my opinion, Mel Tucker has been a disappointment. Nevertheless, if Coach Tucker corrects his course and wins a championship then I will dutifully admit my ignorance and pay reverential respect to Coach Tucker.

But the onus lies with Mel Tucker, and I would argue last Saturday’s practice format signaled that Mel Tucker isn’t especially confident his team will have great success in 2023 otherwise he would have put them in game format.

But more importantly, I thought the Practice Format was an insult to Spartan fans who were hoping to see if Spartan Football under Mel Tucker had made progress since last season, but instead they got practice drills.

Nevertheless, sooner or later Mel Tucker will have to play his hand in Big Ten competition, starting with Maryland on Sep 23 and it will be a day of reckoning…

I always welcome your comments and opinions. You can always go to Will2Win.blog to read past articles, and you can also subscribe or unsubscribe.

Thank you for reading..