Mel Tucker details the "relentless" mindset he demands of his staff and players
"Relentless" is one of the buzzwords that Mel has brought to Michigan State a few years ago.
In East Lansing, relentless is more than just a word though, it is what Mel Tucker demands with everything in his program.
During his spring presser this week, Tucker gave some detail into that mindset and what he expects in his coaches and players.
"When we get into practice, even when we flex, we're coaching every stretch. Every movement, we're going to coach it and it's going to be intense, and there is going to be attention to detail with a sense of urgency.
"When we start the practice, guys are going to be running from drill to drill and guys are going to be coached up on every play. We're going to coach them on the way back to the huddle, we're going to chase them to the ball, we're going to chase them back, and guys are going to take the field when we transition from groups and it's going to be like that the whole time.
"Very intense. Big sense of urgency. Attention to detail...shirts are tucked in, chin straps are buckled, shoes are tied up and you are either taped or you're braced, it's 'Yes sir,' 'No sir,' or 'Coach me coach.' No one is talking back. It's not just going to be like that for practice one, it's not just the first week, it's every single day. Everything we do. A relentless mindset. There can never be any let up. It's never going to stop, so there is no ability to be comfortable."
"There is no relief. It's a constant pressure cooker. That way you find out what guys can do and you put them in those situations and they have to get comfortable being uncomfortable. Then they develop, and if they can do it on a consistent basis in practice, then you put them in the game and you already know...and you're not surprised. We're not just throwing guys out there and hoping."
A bit later on, Tucker shares how the process of getting guys in the locker room to buy in really starts with transparency during recruiting from his current players.
"They understand being comfortable being uncomfortable because when they walk into a meeting, their feet are flat on the floor, they're sitting up, everyone has a notebook, a pen, a pencil, an eraser, a highlighter, they've got all that stuff out and they need to be paying attention. We're making sure that they're taking notes, and we're going to collect those notes and we're going to look at them, and photocopy them and see whose taking good notes, and the quality of them so we can coach them up on that.
"They know. They know what it is. The people that have decided to come here, come here because that is what they want. When they come here on their visits and they talk to our players, and they say 'What's it like?' and they hear that is really is like that here. 'They're like this all the time.'"
Hear more from Tucker in the clip.
