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Mel Tucker explains how Michigan State keeps ‘a chip on our shoulder’ after 11-win season

Grant Bricker

By Grant Bricker

Published:

Michigan State had a great season under Mel Tucker in 2021. The Spartans finished 11-2 in Tucker’s 2nd year at the helm, and he’s hungry for more.

Tucker wants to make sure that his players know that last year doesn’t matter, and that it’s all the past now. Michigan State will need to regroup after losing Kenneth Walker III, Jalen Nailor, A.J. Arcuri, and Connor Heyward. Tucker believes there’s more to be done according to Tony Garcia of the Detroit Free Press.

“Last year is in the distant past,” said Tucker. “That was so long ago, really. There’s more to be done, this is a new season. We’re still in prove it mode and it’s always going to be that way… if we don’t have that mindset then we don’t have a program.”

Tucker further explained how the Spartans are going to keep a chip on their shoulder. He is going to continue holding his players to a higher standard in order to do so. The next goal for Michigan State is bringing a championship to East Lansing according to Tucker.

“We are extremely hungry, and we do have a chip on our shoulder,” said Tucker. “We’ve got a lot to prove. We have a very high standard of performance, and we have decided as a program to attack that standard every single day. There’s a lot of work being done in East Lansing right now as we speak. We’re actually putting the work in. We’re chopping wood every day, and the goal for us is to win every game on our schedule. That’s our stated goal. Our goal is to finish first. That’s our goal. And we need to bring a championship to East Lansing. So that’s what this is all about.”

Grant Bricker

Grant Bricker covers the B1G for Saturday Tradition. His previous stops include the Williamson Homepage and Nashville Post.