Making a clean break from Mel Tucker won't be easy for Michigan State football
EAST LANSING — At one point during his first postgame news conference as the acting coach of Michigan State football, Harlon Barnett sounded like the man he just replaced. The 56-year-old Spartan alum had been asked to reveal what he told his bedraggled team at halftime after it fell behind by five touchdowns in a dispiriting 41-7 loss to Washington.
“Keep chopping,” Barnett responded.
That phrase was repeated by Mel Tucker throughout a tenure now nearing its unceremonious end after the school informed the suspended coach Monday it plans to terminate his contract for cause in the turbulent wake of a USA TODAY report that detailed a sexual harassment claim against him.
The two-word motto was one of Tucker’s go-to lines, a mantra of sorts that became part of his program’s monotonous soundtrack. But now it is just an unpleasant reminder of a tarnished figure MSU is on the verge of exiling. The school has begun the process of distancing itself from Tucker, referencing him only twice and removing his photo from the team’s most recent game notes.
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It has left Barnett in an awkward spot. Less than a fortnight ago, he still reported to Tucker and took cues from him while overseeing the secondary. One of the first moves Tucker made after he was hired in February 2020 was to bring Barnett back to East Lansing as a member of his staff. Barnett bought into Tucker’s gospel and preached it himself. In many ways, he still does.
“Some of the things we have implemented are good things,” he said Tuesday. “They’re good things for the guys.”
They resonate with players filling a roster that has been increasingly shaped by Tucker over time. He recruited the vast majority to MSU, finding them in the high school ranks or the transfer portal. Barnett recognizes that, which is why he can’t completely eschew all things Tucker even if that would be the most convenient course of action at a university eager to sever ties with him.
Barnett acknowledged he is facing a bit of a conundrum as he tries to thread the needle between helping MSU make a clean break from Tucker and keeping the foundation of the program intact for the remainder of the season. Does he begin the process of reprogramming the players for the inevitable transition they’ll encounter or lean into the familiar elements of Tucker’s regime to preserve cohesion?
“It’s a tough balance,” Barnett said.
So far, Barnett has made only subtle changes while pressing his finger lightly to leave his own imprint.
It is Barnett’s way of navigating the Spartans through the mess he inherited. Barnett is sensitive to the turmoil that has gripped the program. He craves some semblance of normalcy, even though he understands that completely attaining it is out of the question during this period of crisis.
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To that point, receiver Tre Mosley said last weekend the terminal velocity of Tucker’s rapid downfall was “a shock to everyone.”
Mosley and his teammates are still processing it as they begin preparation for the Big Ten portion of their schedule. They will do so practicing the same schemes Tucker authorized and implemented. Any future modifications would be minor, according to Barnett.
“It wouldn’t be anything way out of structure from what we’re doing,” he said.
Barnett also doesn’t plan to deviate far from the messaging fundamental to Tucker’s program. Instead, he will only further underscore certain ideas by emphasizing physicality and discipline.
“You work it out and figure when to say, how to say to the guys and help them to perform at the highest level,” he said.
On Saturday, as Washington continued to clobber his Spartans, Barnett chose some of Tucker’s words to guide the team through an adverse situation.
“One play at a time,” he told them. “Six seconds of play and keep chopping.”
But he wasn’t the only one to invoke Tucker in a moment of uncertainty. In the same postgame news conference, fifth-year senior left guard J.D. Duplain was asked how the program could possibly be stabilized after the disruption caused by the sudden change in leadership.
“Always keep the main thing the main thing,” he replied.
Duplain’s response offered yet another reminder that while Tucker is no longer visible, he is still heard by proxy. It’s the uncomfortable reality at a university that signaled it simply wants him gone and perhaps even forgotten, too.
Contact Rainer Sabin at rsabin@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @RainerSabin.
Next up: Terrapins
Matchup: Michigan State (2-1, 0-0 Big Ten) vs. Maryland (3-0, 0-0), Big Ten opener.
Kickoff: 3:30 p.m. Saturday; Spartan Stadium, East Lansing.
TV/radio: NBC; WJR-AM (760).
Line: Terrapins by 7½.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State football making clean break from Mel Tucker difficult
