Another weekend, another missed recruit for my beloved Michigan State Spartans. On Friday, Andrel Anthony, a 3 star WR from East Lansing, committed to Michigan over MSU after MSU had been perceived to be the leader for the last couple months. No matter how big of a homer I like to be or I like to joke about being, this one hurts for sure, for a few reasons. The big one being this kid lives 5 minutes from the football stadium and couldn't be anymore in Mel Tucker's backyard unless he literally pitched a tent and lived in Mel Tucker's backyard. Next killer is the fact that he is teammates with MSU commit Ethan Boyd, so not only couldn't Mel Tucker convince him to come to State but neither good one of his boys from the football team that is already coming to State, ouchie. And then to add a little salt and vinegar to the wound he committed to Michigan of all places, like, if you're gonna go to a program that thinks they're still elite because they were good when FDR was president, at least go to Notre Dame man, its the least you could do for the hometown. Based off of all of those reasons this miss hurts as it is, but the fact that everyone seemed to think he was an MSU lean and Mel Tucker was finally going to win his first recruiting battle going against the big dogs in UofM, PSU, and Notre Dame also added a little bit of oomf to the idea of Anthony coming to state. It felt like the perfect moment to become Mel's first signature moment at MSU (besides taking down that King Kong finger stogie during quarantine) but it was all just a mirage (Guess the corny former Michigan football player).
Now I cant write this without acknowledging the, what I imagine are hordes, of MSU football doomsday criers. I've already seen some on twitter but I wouldn't be surprised if like 30% of spartan nation is sitting in their extremely expensive, gold plated, mahogany thrones, thinking: "we brought in Mel to recruit and he cant get a guy from EL?!?! It's time to see if coach D wants back in". If that's you, you are either blind, brain dead, or suffer from bi polar disorder. I'm sorry, I hate to say it but those truly are the only rational explanations for someone thinking that way. Especially someone as smart and sophisticated as an MSU grad, our brains just function on a higher wavelength and everyone knows it. To quote a certain washed up NFC North QB, "R-E-L-A-X". We are absolutely terrible right now, and we are gonna be absolutely terrible again next year too, AND Mel isn't allowed to get any of these guys to experience those radiant East Lansing vibes for themselves?!? AND HE GOT THROWN INTO THE JOB LIKE A WEEK AFTER SIGNING DAY?!?! The fact that Mel has gotten anyone to commit is a miracle that rivals that one guy from that one book who turns water into wine.
I know the recruiting hasn't necessarily been on fire, especially comparing it to what Tom Izzo is doing on the hoops side of things but the message I need to convey when it comes to football is PATIENCE. If we build it, they will come. Think about it, Tucker is taking over an MSU program at the lowest it has been since before Dantonio ever took over. I know recruiting is supposed to be Mel's thing, and sure this class so far is a bit underwhelming, especially compared to what OSU, UofM, and PSU are doing but we need to give him time. Next year, the class of 2022 guys, is the first year that it is all gonna be on Mel and if he is still missing on all of these bigger recruits, then it might be time to get on his case a little bit. But until then, 2021 is a wash, anyone he convinces to come play here is a plus and who knows we got a long way to go, he might pull of a 4 star after all. One thing we have heard time and time again about Mel is that he is a junkyard dog on the recruiting trail, he never stops, so until some of these guys we were in on that went else where, like Anthony, are officially choking away B1G berths on the road to Iowa, then we still got a shot. Until then we gotta chill out! Maybe smoke a little weed, or if that isn't your thing have a few cups of herbal tea, get a massage, light some incense, cook your way through Julia Child's cookboodt, and have patience; Mel Tucker is the guy we thought he was, and he will bring us back to glory. Also, Coach Tucker if you're reading this I have a podcast that I would love to have you on to discuss this upcoming season, and I would be more than happy to come on Tucker Talks, just let me know. Go Green.