Mel Tucker

Even though I live in Colorado I had not heard of Mel Tucker.  Footballwise it is fair to say both Boulder and CSU are stepping stones, especially for SEC assistants.

It is strange that Colorado and the Pac 12 have a lot to offer.  Occasionally they are good but something always happens.  One thing that happens is a lot of turnover in coaches.  They are hard to follow because they go from competitive to embarrassing at the whim or stupid act of a few players or a bad coach.  They are just not solid and tenured anymore.

It is not an easy schedule and in fact it was a fun one.  Take away both Washington coaches and it loses luster.  Then look at Stanford and UCLA at 4-8.  Nebraska was not a top 25 team.  As has been said elsewhere, they were blown out by the two good teams they faced in Oregon and Utah.

It is not hard to find the resume of a coach these days.  Tucker has an impressive one, plus he is in his forties and black.  He comes across as knowledgeable, aggressive, and, for his age, experienced

To put it bluntly, he has never won anything.  Colorado could have been pretty good, what with a very good quarterback and at least one star receiver.  One strong element Tucker had going for him was a pretty good recruiting class.  There are a lot of transfers and in 2019 too.

Therein lie the issues with Mel Tucker for Michigan State.  There are a lot of transfers (there does not seem to be a lot of geographical clarity either), and in college football that often means trouble.  Look at Michigan -- there is an occasional stellar guy, usually a grad transfer, but Harbaugh and Michigan would rather take large recruiting classes.  More generally, he is a fast-paced (career tenure-wise) recruiter.  Colorado is not going to hold-up admissions.  Questionable characters?  Michigan State could be more of the same, and unfortunately, the Spartans could be in for more of the same too.

What diversity in the recruits he brought to the state of Colorado...  The Buffaloes have the measly sum of $3 million to help find another coach, but he screwed a lot of people.  Then he turned-down MSU until they gave him a successful coach's salary.  The whole thing looks rotten.

It is great to have a nice resume, but my personal opinion is that there are going to be a lot of unsuccessful Nick Saban coaching tree coaches.  One other one in the Big Ten East currently rules over College Park, MD.  NFL assistants do not have a great track record either and there are a lot of other qualities too.  Experience as an assistant and a $5 million salary just does not ensure success.

What is more, it does not guarantee character.  There are going to be scandals and close calls at Michigan State.  How will coach Tucker handle them?

In the meantime, and this is what every coach and recruit ultimately wants, the stage cannot be any bigger.  Ohio State pedigree or not, they are going to be on the field in the Horseshoe, on the road at Wisconsin, and under the lights in a white out in State College.  Talent and current recruiting wise, the Spartans are not a pretty picture.  The big three in the East, with Indiana the next-best, will relish every opportunity keep Sparty down.

Another thing that happened here, besides this ridiculous SEC assistant fascination, is how the 'selection' worked.  When you fly around on Sunday via private plane for a meeting work has already been done.  Luke Fickell too was reported to have accepted a draft agreement.  That'll be up to the reporters and bloggers to dissect in terms of coaching rumors.  The accusations are already flying.  Ficklell had the last word for the sordid recruitment:  It was the "campus culture,"  and that is something Boulder, Colorado is not know for either.