There’s a good chance Mel Tucker hasn’t slept since he arrived in East Lansing on Wednesday afternoon. Not only as the head coach met with the team, assistant coaches and attended a hockey game, he was at the Breslin Center on Saturday night for Michigan State’s showdown with Maryland.

He took the opportunity, in front of a large crowd, to thank fans for their support of his hiring and make a few promises during a timeout. With the microphone in hand, Tucker walked to center court and guaranteed the fans a few things.

“I’m happy to be back home, where it all began for me,” Tucker said. “Thank you for your support, me and my family, we really appreciate it. And I can promise you one thing, our football team will be relentless. We have work to do, we’ve got something to prove. We’re gonna get it done, I’ll promise you that.”

Tucker comes to Michigan State after spending one season as the head coach at Colorado. He was once a graduate assistant at MSU, serving in that role on Nick Saban’s staff in 1997 and 1998.

Michigan State is coming off a 7-6 campaign in 2019, which included a win over Wake Forest in the Pinstripe Bowl.