MSU football coach Mel Tucker pictured Tuesday, March 14, 2023, during the first day of spring practice at the indoor football facilty in East Lansing. Fb 7060 Matthew Dae Smith/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

Where Tucker Failed At Recruiting For MSU Is Valuable Lesson For Smith

Originally posted on Michigan State Spartans on SI
By Michael France | Last updated Feb 18, 2025 2:38 PM ET

For Michigan State coach Jonathan Smith, the recruiting trail offers a chance to build a program through not only talent, but character. The stars on a recruiting profile don't matter. The tape and the person within the player does.

The Spartans want high football IQ players with good habits such as film and gym rat study habits; two-way players get a big nod since they typically sport the instincts and football IQ that Smith and Co. want. They take risers, such as 2025 linebacker DJ White -- mid-to-high three-star who ended his high school career as a 247Sports four-star.

Same with Jace Clarizio, a borderline four-star 2025 running back whose value could be seen in the other schools that were targeting him, namely Alabama. A telling sign of his potential.

So, while the recruiting class rankings might not look favorable on paper (Michigan State's 2025 class sits at No. 40 per 247Sports, No. 56 per its Composite rankings), Smith and his staff are more than confident in what they have. By the way, 2026 is already looking better with two high-ceiling three-stars and a bona fide four-star.

Juxtapose this with the Mel Tucker era, which was nothing short of a disaster. Tucker left several key pipelines and recruiting footholds to the wayside in his mission to recruit Michigan State like an SEC school, targeting a less selective group of blue-chippers for the sake of blue-chippers.

(Selective meaning a set prototype for measurables, habits, character and what you'd see on film.)

A recent list compiled by 247Sports' Justin Thind exhibited several "high-profile" recruits that Tucker missed out on -- and the fact that they were busts. It is very telling.

Take, for instance, 2021 four-star linebacker Jamari Buddin. Choses Penn State over the Spartans, and despite playing for a staff renowned for its incredible in-house talent development, couldn't cut it and bounced from New Mexico State to Divison II Grand Valley State.

2022 five-star offensive tackle Kiyaunta Goodwin chose Kentucky in a narrow race with the Spartans. Now, he's seemingly all but out of the sport.

Two other four-star offensive lineman who spurned Michigan State are now with Miami (Ohio) and Florida Atlantic.

The jury is out on Smith; he's only had one recruiting cycle under his belt. But Tucker's biggest failure in recruiting wasn't who he landed or couldn't land -- it was his missing the mark entirely on who to recruit.

Michael France is Sports Illustrated's Michigan State recruiting beat writer, covering all things Big Ten recruiting for Spartan Nation. Be sure to follow him on Twitter/X@michaelfrancesi for exclusive Spartans recruiting coverage.

This article first appeared on Michigan State Spartans on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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