Oil/water relationship helped Michigan State football's Maliq Carr become better tight end
EAST LANSING – It’s safe to say Ted Gilmore is an old-school, no-nonsense tight ends coach.
It’s also safe to say that Maliq Carr’s carefree attitude hasn’t necessarily meshed with his Michigan State football position coach’s hard-nosed approach to the business.
At many times over the past two years, there was plenty of friction between the two. So much so that Carr, when asked how often they butted heads, gave a deep exhale and quick chuckle.
“Back in the day, it was back and forth almost every other week,” the junior from Oak Park said Monday. “Now, it's more like we got a better understanding of each other and where we're coming from.”
To be clear, both admit it was “a journey,” as Gilmore said, to turn Carr from a talented transfer wide receiver from Purdue into the player his coach said will be the Spartans’ starting tight end this fall. Gilmore’s main mission was to mold Carr from a two-way athlete — he played for Tom Izzo’s basketball team in the winter of 2022 after transferring but did not this winter — into a tougher-minded tight end who now is willing to engage as a blocker.
Getting Carr to buy into that transition was at times maddening for Gilmore. But now, the veteran coach is “happy with where he’s at."
“It's been a process, it's been a three-year process,” Gilmore said Monday. “Maliq is finally at a point where, one, he's truly embracing that he is a tight end and everything that comes along with that. I'm really proud of how much he has improved in the run game as far as blocking, and that's been his biggest struggle. Because we all know he's a big, athletic guy, but he just wasn't ready in my opinion the last couple years for certain situations.
“But I think he is now. He's in a position to be that main guy, in position where hopefully he doesn't leave the field too much.”
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Carr, who has two seasons of eligibility remaining, has yet to start in his first two seasons as a Spartan, putting together 24 catches for 344 yards in 24 games since arriving at MSU. He had one catch for 15 yards in three games before leaving Purdue after the 2020 season.
It took until midway through 2021 for Carr to start getting significant reps on offense, and he finished with 155 snaps at tight end behind Connor Heyward and Tyler Hunt. Last season, Carr finished second among MSU’s tight ends with 16 catches and 209 yards along with his first two career touchdowns. Still, he ranked third in snaps at 321, behind Hunt (372) and Illinois transfer Daniel Barker (353).
“Yeah, I was frustrated,” Carr said of his usage. “But I mean, it is what it is. It got me to this point, and I'm OK now. I'm not really trippin’ about it.”
Gilmore knew the division of reps bothered Carr, who is the son of Grand Valley State men’s basketball coach Cornell Mann. Yet the 28-year football coach with an NFL background and experience coaching both receivers and tight ends knew what he needed from Carr. Improved blocking was the priority.
“Year 1, I think was probably about Game 8 that he finally played a little bit, because he hadn't earned it. Year 2, he still wasn't a complete player and he was more of a role player. Whether he agreed with it or not — and trust me, he did not agree with it — he hadn't earned it,” Gilmore said. “So that's been a process for both of us, because he'll be the first to tell you he probably didn't like me. And I tell you what, there were days I didn't like him.
“But through it all, we found our way, and we're at a point where I think we understand each other. I think he appreciates it now, because he knows it was not given to him.”
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That stern, fatherly message Gilmore continued to preach at times bothered Carr, who admits he’s far less serious about things.
“We play a child's game at the end of the day, and I just want to have fun with it,” Carr said.
An oil-and-water mixture of opinion, coupled with age and communication gaps, did not allow for their bond to form quickly.
“I've been doing this for a long time, and it's not the first time a player just didn't (agree) with me or didn't like me,” Gilmore said. “I'm 56 years old, I don't need a 22-year-old friend. So let's start there. I'm not trying to be his friend, I'm here to tell him the truth. …
“It's not about telling him what he wants to hear, I tell him what he needs to hear. And trust me, there has been plenty of times I've stepped on his toes and his shoes. But there's also been times where I've been willing to shine them.”
To show how far their relationship has come, Carr laughed when he heard about Gilmore’s friendship quip.
“I ain't even 22, I'm 21,” Carr said with a laugh. “It's hard, but you gotta find something y'all connect on. And there's always something. It's gotta be a mutual thing. If your coach isn't willing to get to know you, it's gonna be hard for you to be willing to get to know him. …
“We both weren't necessarily open to each other as far as outside of football, and that didn't really help build the relationship. But as time went on, we got to know each other a bit outside of football, and it made the relationship better.”
That came as a natural result of maturation and spending more together, particularly with Carr giving up basketball and focusing solely on football this winter. Still, Carr does not plan to change his demeanor — except when it comes to the blocking component Gilmore has been harping on for three years.
“I can't play serious, I gotta laugh and joke,” Carr said. “But when I line up, I can be serious for blocking.”
Gilmore believes Carr will blossom into the NFL expectations that he's always carried. He has an athletic frame and is listed at 6-foot-5, 260 pounds with speed to stretch the field in the passing game. He might be even bigger —Gilmore said Carr weighed in recently at 272 pounds, while Carr added that he has grown and now is closer to 6-7.
“Oh, it changes us. It changes us immensely,” Gilmore said of Carr’s potential impact on the offense. “Now, you gotta defend the entire field. Maliq has a unique skill set. … For big man, he can still move. There's not a lot of big people out there that can move like him. So he really has a chance now that he's going to be a starter to really make a name for himself and really put himself in position to do some great things.”
Carr refuses to reveal any personal goals, instead showing the maturity and growth as a team leader Gilmore is now enjoying seeing shine.
“As far as myself, I don't really expect anything. I just want the season to go well for the team,” Carr said. “I really want our tight end group as a whole to be good. As a leader, that's my job. That's what I want. Outside of that, I don't really care. Just have fun.”
Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrissolari.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State football: Maliq Carr embracing blocking role of TE
