There is no shortage of defensive knowledge on Mel Tucker’s new Michigan State football staff.
He ran defenses at both the Power Five and NFL levels before getting his first chance as a head coach last year at Colorado. New coordinator Scottie Hazelton, cornerbacks coach Harlon Barnett and safeties coach Mike Tressel were each in charge of his own defense last season at three different schools.
That wealth of defensive minds with different philosophies is vital to Tucker’s vision. He schematically plans for the Spartans to play “relentless” football when they open his tenure Oct. 24 against Rutgers.