Mel Tucker has named Jim Salgado the program’s cornerbacks coach. Salgado, who has nearly 30 years of coaching experience, spent the past six seasons with the Buffalo Bills (2017-22). He arrived in Buffalo in 2017 and spent his first three seasons as a defensive assistant. Salgado was promoted to nickelbacks coach in 2020 and was the team’s safeties coach in 2022.
The Michigan State football program welcomed NFL coaches, scouts and personnel to the Duffy Daugherty Football Building on Wednesday as the Spartans hosted their annual Pro Day.
The 2022 season didn’t go exactly as planned for Michigan State. The Spartans went 5-7 and missed a bowl game in Head Coach Mel Tucker’s third season, with roster health and talent level just a couple of the contributing factors that led to such a poor showing.
Source: State News
The Michigan State football team began spring practice with a two-hour workout in helmets, jerseys and shorts on Tuesday morning inside the Duffy Daugherty Football Building. “We’re really focusing on having a relentless mindset in everything that we do, on and off the field,” said Mel Tucker
Coach Mel Tucker is now heading into his fourth season leading Michigan State and will be looking for a rebound after missing a bowl game. There was plenty of turnover on the roster and key spots are up for grabs. MLive recently broke down Michigan State’s roster by position, looking back at last year and ahead to this season.
Source: MLive.com
The Michigan State football star led all punters in terms of average punt distance and hangtime which is impressive when you consider just how far his punts are traveling in the air. He averaged over seven more yards and 0.7 more seconds of hangtime than the Ray Guy Award winner on open field punts. He also dominated the direction punts category with over 50 yards per punt and over 5.0 seconds of hangtime. And his pooch/pin punts had the most hangtime by a wide margin.
Source: Spartan Shadows
Brandon Jordan joined Michigan State football 13 months ago with much fanfare and a fancy new title. But the pass rush specialist is now set to leave East Lansing to take a similar role with the Seattle Seahawks, the Free Press confirmed. Jordan had just begun to make an impact with the Spartans, where his reputation as a private trainer for the some of the NFL’s best sack artists preceded him.
Source: Detroit Free Press
There was minor turnover for Michigan State at linebacker in the offseason as VanSumeren declared for the NFL draft and Casteel transferred to Vanderbilt. Windmon and Brule are both returning to use their final season of eligibility, which is a huge boost for the Spartans who need improvement from that group and nearly every other following last year.
Source: MLive.com
Coleman, 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds, has the size, skill and athleticism to be a dominant player. And after also playing basketball following his freshman season, he didn’t join Tom Izzo’s squad in the offseason while deciding to focus on football over the winter and spring. That could help lead to an even more productive junior year.
Source: mlive.com
Thorne entered the 2022 season cemented as the starter and was the only quarterback on the roster who had taken a snap in a game. Now heading into his fifth year with the program, he’s a two-time captain with by far the most experience in the room and could be poised for a comeback season. There’s also an opportunity for others to use spring practice and fall camp to challenge Thorne for the starting job.
Source: MLive.com
“Every scout I’ve talked to said we’re just worried about his speed,” McShay said of Reed on ESPN’s First Draft podcast. “Then he comes out on the first day of practice and is on the zebra technology where they track the miles per hour, he was the fastest player at 20.03 miles per hour. So to see that speed on the field and to watch him with all the other wide receivers, to see his release off the line, the way he tracked the ball vertically, the confidence with his hands when the ball was in the air, I don’t know that Jayden Reed gets out of the second round.”
Source: 247Sports
Michigan State is adding more special teams depth from the portal. Michael O’Shaughnessy, a punter from Ohio State, announced his transfer commitment to the Spartans via Twitter on Wednesday night. He is the second addition from the Buckeyes in the offseason and has two seasons of eligibility remaining.
Source: MLive.com
In the 1960s, with Black athletes facing rampant prejudice and the perception that they were incapable of playing quarterback, Jimmy Raye follows Coach Duffy Daugherty’s “Underground Railroad” to Michigan State. There, he becomes a star signal caller and
Source: NFL 360: Black History Month Special | THE INDELIBLE LEGACY OF JIMMY RAYE
Jordan Hall was on an official visit at Michigan State and had seen enough. The 2023 four-star linebacker from IMG Academy in Florida committed to the Spartans in June and was going to wait to announce it. But the following day, while he was at coach Mel Tucker’s house alongside Michigan State players, coaches and other recruits, Hall decided to go public with his decision in a commitment shared via social media.
Source: mlive.com
Both Jayden Reed and Bryce Baringer earned awards during this week’s Reese’s Senior Bowl practices, voted on by teammates.
Source: Spartan Shadows