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Former Michigan State football stars expose Mel Tucker era shortcomings

Originally posted on Spartan Shadows
By Connor Muldowney  |  Last updated 5/9/24

A few former Michigan State football stars pointed out a massive issue during the Mel Tucker era and it’s that ‘Spartan Dawg’ wasn’t earned.

“Earned, not given.”

That’s a phrase that Mark Dantonio undoubtedly muttered a number of times when he was still the head coach of Michigan State football. And it’s a phrase that has stuck with a number of his former players.

When it pertains to Michigan State, the label ‘Spartan Dawg’ is earned and not given. You don’t just commit to Michigan State and get that label, you commit, give 3-4 years of your playing career, and then help build the culture on and off the field. You don’t transfer at the first bag thrown at you nor do you even slightly consider taking a visit to your rival after hitting the portal — or ever.

The term ‘Spartan Dawg’ has lost a lot of its luster over the past few years, and former players have noticed.

In fact, the term ‘SD4L’ replaced it under Mel Tucker, but Tony Lippett, RJ Shelton, and Felton Davis III made sure everyone knew on Wednesday that not everyone who plays for Michigan State is automatically a ‘Spartan Dawg’.

No, it has to be earned.

So when Lippett found out that Jaden Mangham was taking a visit to Michigan next weekend after hitting the transfer portal, he didn’t hold back in his opinion on the topic: “He can go.”

Davis and Shelton echoed the same sentiments and even got into it a little bit with Mangham’s older brother, Jalen, who seemed to be on a social media rampage on Wednesday. The former Spartans’ opinions on the Mangham-to-Michigan visit were deemed irrelevant by Jaden’s older brother, but Davis had this to say which really opened my eyes to how bad the culture got under Tucker.

Jalen Mangham said that “this ain’t the MSU program y’all played for” while telling Davis, Shelton, and Lippett to mind their business and Felton’s response was perfect.

“That’s the problem for sure.”

This isn’t the same program that those three MSU legends played for. They played for a Michigan State football program that had pride and an elite culture. They were part of some of the best seasons of Spartan football in decades. And there’s a reason for that: they earned the ‘Spartan Dawg’ label.

Under Tucker, anyone who committed was a “SD4L” and, as my fellow writer Maxwell Klitzke pointed out, it was just a title handed to anyone who wanted to wear a Michigan State uniform at the moment. Former players don’t like that the term has been taken for granted and hot it got used so loosely.

That was the problem in the Tucker era. He was all about recruiting players who wanted to be there for themselves and didn’t truly give back to the culture of the program or learn from the “OGs” as Felton Davis III called them. They didn’t put in the work. It’s why you see so many guys transferring out and it’s why Mangham feels like it’s OK to visit Michigan.

Michigan State’s culture took a huge hit under Tucker and it’s up to Jonathan Smith to bring it back.

Getting some of these guys back on campus to talk to the current players would be a great start.

This article first appeared on Spartan Shadows and was syndicated with permission.

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