Mel Tucker is getting settled into his new role in East Lansing. It’s been a hectic month, moving across the country, assembling a staff, recruiting and preparing for spring practice. Saying Mark Dantonio put his successor, and the program, in a pinch is an understatement.

As Michigan State begins to move forward from Dantonio and start a new era under Tucker, there will be a slight change in expectations for the Spartans on the field — perhaps not long-term, but certainly in the immediate future. The program will still be expected to compete for B1G titles in the coming years, but that won’t be the case in 2020.

So, what are some realistic goals and expectations for Michigan State in the first year under Tucker? There are three things the Spartans should be shooting for in the inaugural season of the new coaching regime.

Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports

Show something fresh on offense

At the top of Tucker’s priority list should be to add some flavor to Michigan State’s offense. Over the last two years, the Spartans have been bland, and it produced some disgusting results. Fixing that side of the football is important, especially when it comes to the new coaching staff earning the respect of the fans in East Lansing.

Jay Johnson may not be the savior of Michigan State’s offense, but he did have moderate success when he was calling the shots at Minnesota in 2016. That year, the Gophers ranked fourth in scoring offense in the B1G (29.3 points per game) and fifth in rushing offense (183.6 yards per game). Minnesota finished that season 9-4, losing three of those four games by one possession.

Tucker and Johnson will have their work cut out for them, as Michigan State loses starting quarterback Brian Lewerke and top receivers Darrell Stewart Jr. and Cody White. Offensive line play has been atrocious and must be corrected in order to move the football in such a highly-competitive conference. But the shortcomings on offense — based on recent results and lack of elite playmakers — should allow Johnson the opportunity to get creative and some fresh scheme and new wrinkles to a unit that has looked like a snail in the mud over the last two seasons.

The Spartans do return leading rusher Elijah Collins and running back Connor Heyward decided to back out of the transfer portal and stay at MSU, providing some talent and depth in the backfield for the new staff. If Chris Kapilovic can develop better play along the offensive line, there’s a chance Michigan State can at least possess the threat to run the football. And after ranking 13th in the B1G the last two years, that would be a significant improvement.

Get recruiting back on track

Michigan State has never been one of the nation’s most prominent recruiting powers in college football, and that likely won’t change under Tucker. But, the final years of the Mark Dantonio era saw the program slip significantly in the rankings, which can’t happen if the Spartans want to maintain its status as one of the better programs in the B1G.

Here’s a quick look at how the classes have dropped — at least in the B1G — since piecing together a top 20 class in 2016:

  • 2016: 3rd B1G, 17th nationally
  • 2017: 6th B1G, 36th nationally
  • 2018: 6th B1G, 31st nationally
  • 2019: 7th B1G, 33rd nationally
  • 2020: 10th B1G, 43rd nationally

This year, Michigan State didn’t ink a single four-star prospect, based on 247Sports’ Composite rankings. Not one. That’s a problem.

When Dantonio’s teams were rolling, Michigan State was regularly raking in one of the conference’s top five classes and typically falling between No. 25 and No. 35 in the national picture. If Tucker and his staff can recruit well, there’s no reason Michigan State can’t consistently put together top five classes in the B1G and occasionally fall in the top 15-20 nationally.

More than anything, though, consistency is key. Michigan State isn’t going to win in the B1G East by having classes that rank No. 7 – No. 10 in the league. Down years will certainly happen, but it can’t become the norm. Tucker is going to have to work hard to get a top five B1G class put together in 2021, but that should be the goal for the new staff.

Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports

Go bowling

Considering all that has happened at Michigan State in the past year, getting to six wins for a staff that was pieced together on incredibly short notice might be a bit of a stretch for Tucker in Year 1 with the program, and just his second season as a head coach overall. And as difficult as the 2020 schedule is, there might be just enough winnable contests on the slate to return to the postseason.

How huge would that be for Tucker’s first season?

Michigan State will play five teams (Northwestern, Miami, Toledo, Rutgers and Maryland) who finished with six wins or fewer last season. If the Spartans could get victories in those five games, they’d need a win over either BYU or Indiana to get that all-important 6-6 mark. It’s far from a guarantee, but it’s also not impossible.

The stretch from Oct. 3 through Nov. 14 is brutal, playing Iowa, Michigan, Ohio State, Indiana, Minnesota and Penn State. Four of those teams hitting double-digit win totals last season, and all went bowling. Sneaking out just one victory in those six games would be a significant accomplishment.

Simply reaching bowl games isn’t going to be the expectation in East Lansing, not after what Dantonio was able to accomplish in 13 seasons with the program. But getting back to the postseason this year, given what’s occurred over the last few months, would be a significant achievement for Tucker in his first year.