What Mel Tucker said about Michigan football before the big game

“We all know what this week is. It’s not just another game for us. Our players and staff and fans understand that. Last week we had a chance to practice three days and hit the recruiting trail, which was good for us. We are still well received on the recruiting trail and will have a productive recruiting class. We were also out in the community last week with our players and staff. … It was great seeing our guys out in the community serving. We had a chance to get our players rested and some guys back healthy.

“We met as a team this morning and continued with our preparation of introducing our opponent. We had a very focused and intense practice today. No hitting. We’ll hit tomorrow and Wednesday. But the focus was there, as was the intent. We know what we have to do within our process to prepare. We need to be tough, disciplined and selfless and carry that into the game.”

“I just remember knowing that it was a big game. I don’t remember all that much about it other than that it was a big game and a typical rivalry game. I remember that. I’m not sure how much it has changed. It is still a rivalry game and a big game.”

“Just play complimentary football for sixty minutes. Be tough. Be selfless. Be disciplined. Take care of the football. The week before we played that game, we turned the ball over seven times. We didn’t turn it over that game.”

“I mean we’re going — we’re preparing to go out there and play a game. What does that take? It takes intentional focus. It takes toughness, discipline and selflessness. That’s what it’s takes. Whether you want to call it ‘circling the wagons,’ a ‘bunker mentality’ or a ‘taking it to the mattresses’ or ‘us against the world’. Whatever you want to call it, it is what it is. Nothing changes.”

“They have a good offensive line and are well-coached. Their backs run hard and can make you miss, and they can run you over. They play hard. The receivers and tight ends block. They formation you, they are going to shift and they are going to motion, and they are going to make sure you can fit the runs. They are going to make sure you are in position. They have a good scheme and good players.”

They have a good line, they’re well-coached. Their backs run hard. They can make you miss, they can run you over. They play hard. The receivers block and the tight ends block. They’ll formation you. They’re going to shift and they’re going to motion, make sure you’re sound and make sure you can fit the runs. Make sure you’re in position. They have a good scheme and they have good players.

“We used the time to get healthier and hopefully get some guys back. That’s what the bye is for and we certainly use it for that. We’ll see who we can get back and have ready to play. But it does matter who is out there. You can see it makes a difference when you have two of your best players back out on the field. I don’t really see any minuses for us. It’s really all about the delivery of the information to the players and how it is presented to them, telling them what this game means and stuff like that. We really did not roll out the bulletin board material and all the video and that stuff until this morning, even though it’s already out there. We rolled this stuff out there this morning from an educational standpoint. The players can get it from us and not the outside. And then we build from there. Like I told the players, it’s something you have to embrace. I’ve been very fortunate to be part of some rivalry games. I’ve been part of a significant amount of those. It’s really the delivery of the information and then the focus you take day-to-day with the process and not getting ahead of yourselves. You have to keep the main thing the main thing, which is the preparation. Our best 60 minutes are ahead of us. We have not played our best game yet.”

“We’ll use crowd noise in practice this week. We will show them videos. We will make it uncomfortable for them in practice and meetings so they are not overwhelmed when they get to the game.”

“When it is in-state, it is different. You’re fighting over the same recruits and traveling in the same circles. You are getting workplaces divided and households divided. There are bragging rights and it’s something you talk about every day. There has not been a day I’ve been here where this game has not come up. When you are in close proximity, it adds to the intensity of it.”

“They have really good players so when you’re in a position to make the play, you have to be able to make that play. Just generally speaking, against the run, we have to set edges and build a wall inside. You have to have gap integrity, make sure the ball doesn’t run through your gap. Then we have to make sure we don’t leave it up to just one guy so we can’t go one-for-one on blocking schemes. We have to be able to secure our gap, our initial responsibility, then once the ball challenges your gap, you have to violently shed and finish on the ball so we can get people on the ball and finish on top. Don’t leave it up to one guy. We have to do a really good job on perimeter runs which is on the edges with whoever the support guy is. A lot of times it’s defensive backs, so have to do a really good job of crack replacement. Really good job on block protection on the edges. Staying square, good level, and hand placement. Getting our outside putback and being able to make sure we don’t lose the edge. Keep leverage on formations so we can do a really good job with our motion adjustments. Adjusting to formations, making sure we have good leverage on formations. Make sure everybody knows what gap they have initially but we have to do a good job of violent shedding and getting on the ball so we don’t leave it up to one guy. We have to gang tackle and be a population. Form a human arrow on the ball carrier with population, leverage and tackling.”

“He’s a really good player. He’s very confident, hyper-competitive. Has got a good arm, he believes in his arm and arm strength. He’s accurate with the ball. He’s very mobile, so he can extend plays, have really good designed quarterback runs for him to take advantage of his speed and quickness. They do a really good job from a scheme standpoint to make sure they take advantage of what the defense gives them in terms of whether it’s free access or short, quick throws, screens, things like that. They do a great job of protecting him when they want to take shots down the field. They step up and help clean the pocket and be efficient. Again, he’s got a lot of good players around him. He’s a good player with good players around him and with a good scheme. They play hard and they’re well-coached. I think that’s why they’re playing at a high level.”

“This is what big-time college football is all about. This is not for everyone but this is what you love to do so when you get an opportunity and coach on a stage like that, it’s special. Not everyone has an opportunity to do something like that, to perform in front of the world. Lay it on the line and put it all out there. That’s what our players—that’s what they expect to do when you come here to Michigan State, to play on national TV versus great teams on a huge stage. To have an opportunity to perform at your best and put it all out there. That’s a great part about doing what we do. It’s uncommon. It’s an opportunity. Of course, something we look forward to as competitors and knowing that this is the life that we have chosen, to do things like this. It’s really, at this point of the week, it’s about one day at a time. How do we prepare for that opportunity? What matters most is what we do today. Certainly, it’s a great opportunity and I’m looking forward to seeing our guys play their best 60 of the season.”