There aren’t as many mixed reactions when it comes to the Michigan State Spartans heading into the 2021 season.

Before each season, Athlon Sports releases a list of comments that Big Ten coaches make about other teams anonymously within the conference. Some are mixed reactions (as we saw today when it comes to Iowa) but others are more similar, which include the Spartans.

They’re coming off a tough season where they went 2-5 in Mel Tucker’s first season at the helm. Their two wins came against Northwestern and arch-rival Michigan.

Here’s what some B1G anonymous coaches had to say about the Spartans heading into this season, per Athlon Sports:

“It’s really hard to judge much of anything they did on the field last year. They got hired late and didn’t get any time after the pandemic. I think you haven’t really seen what they want to do yet.”

“What’s most interesting to us is that hiring Mel Tucker is a 180 from Mark [Dantonio] in so many ways, but really the program identity is the total opposite. The old Michigan State was all about development, consistency, sort of that Big Ten West approach but maybe they could get in on a few more high-end guys. That was the model that built those Rose Bowl teams. Tucker is going to be a recruiting-focused guy, trying to turn that brand into a peer to Michigan and Ohio State. Is that possible? When you can’t land the same five-stars, are you going to be able to make the three-stars work for you?”

“That’s my question about that offense. They were terrible because of a new staff and a new scheme and the pandemic, but they’re also trying to do something very different. Do they stick with the quarterback [Payton Thorne]? Nothing he did really stood out.”

“I think you’re going to see more growing pains, because this probably isn’t the kind of staff that’s going to modify what they do for the talent left over from Dantonio. They want to be very different and they want to impose that on the program right away, which means it’s going to look a little rough for a while.”