Michigan State University Athletics
Hall of Fame
- Induction:
- 2026
- Class:
- 1992
Tico Duckett
Football (1989-92)/Track & Field (1989-92)
Kalamazoo, Mich.
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· 1990 Associated Press Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year
· Three-time All-Big Ten honoree (1990-92), including First Team honors in 1990 and 1992
· Big Ten’s leading rusher in 1990
· First Spartan to ever rush for 1,000 yards in three consecutive seasons
· One of just three Spartans with 4,000 career rushing yards
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Although he is a local businessman and not an author, if Tico Duckett were to write an autobiography about his time as a football and track & field student-athlete at Michigan State and his career in the Green and White, he would title it “100 Percent Spartan.” Now he has the final chapter to that book with being inducted into the Michigan State Athletics Hall of Fame.
“That’s what I would call it, because that’s what you are when you spend a lot of time on the field and on the track as well, playing all those years of Spartan football and lettering in track four years in a row, you become a 100 percent Spartan,” said Duckett. “It would have at least one chapter for each year and all the experiences, including scoring the winning touchdown to beat Michigan my sophomore year when they were number one in the country, and including being a Heisman Trophy candidate, and capping it off with 1,000-yards rushing three years in a row.”
Coming to Michigan State as a highly touted football player and sprinter from Loy-Norrix High School in Kalamazoo, Duckett redshirted his first season at MSU, before seeing limited action as a redshirt-freshman in 1989.Â
In 1990, Duckett burst onto the scene, rushing for nearly 1,400 yards and 10 touchdowns, including the game-winning score from 9-yards out with 1:59 left in a 28-27 Victory for MSU over No. 1 Michigan on Oct. 13, 1990 in Ann Arbor. Duckett finished as the Big Ten’s leading rusher and No. 6 in the nation with 125.1 yards per game, while the 1,394 yards ranked fifth on MSU’s single-season rushing list. Duckett capped the season earning first-team All-Big Ten honors and was named the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year. Along with all the individual honors, Duckett also helped Michigan State to the 1990 Big Ten co-championship, finishing 8-3-1 and No. 16 in the AP Poll.
As a junior in 1991, Duckett added another All-Big Ten award, garnering second-team honors, after finishing second in the B1G and 12th in the NCAA in rushing at 109.5 yards per game. Duckett ended with 1,204 rushing yards, ranking seventh at the time on MSU’s rushing list for a single-season.Â
Entering his senior season of 1992, Duckett was a candidate for the Heisman Trophy, Doak Walker Trophy and All-America consideration, as the Big Ten’s leading returning rusher. Duckett didn’t disappoint, leading the Spartans with 1,021 yards, becoming the first MSU rusher to have three 1,000-yard seasons. He is still one of just two Spartans to do so, joined by Sedrick Irvin (1996-99). Additionally, Duckett is still one of just three Spartans with more than 4,000 rushing yards for their career, joining Spartan greats and fellow MSU Athletics Hall of Famers Lorenzo White and Javon Ringer.
On the track, Duckett was fifth in the 55-meter dash with a time of 6.44 at the 1989 Big Ten Indoor Championships, and sixth in the 100-meter dash at the 1989 B1G Outdoor Championships with a time of 10.77.
Duckett was considered an “old school” running back during his football playing days, and his playing style was matched by his attire, as he wore the same shoulder pads that White wore during his career (1984-87), and emulated him in everything he did.Â
“I’ve always tried to make sure that I lived up to the Lorenzo White standard,” said Duckett. “And that continues today, as I know that he had a heck of a speech during his MSU Hall of Fame induction.”Â
Along with White, Duckett has memories of his coaches and his teammates that made a lasting impact on his playing career, as well as his time growing up and as an adult. Duckett is appreciative of everyone that helped him develop on and off the field.
“I’m just so thankful for my football coach George Perles, and my track coach, Jim Bibbs, along with all my position coaches and support staff on my Spartan football and track teams, and all my teammates, family and friends for helping me become not just the athlete, but the person that I am today,” said Duckett.Â
Now as an adult and after a well-decorated athletic career full of accolades, Duckett’s long list has a new top honor.
“This is number one for sure, it ranks at the top no question,” said Duckett. “Any time you’re inducted into any kind of Hall of Fame, whether it’s sports or something else, it’s just an exclamation point on your career. It’s that final drop in your career, and it’s something that nobody can take away from you, you’ve earned it.
“This puts a bookend on my career at Michigan State, and it just helps me feel as if I’m part of history. It is the final chapter of my story as a Spartan. I remember coming here at 17-18 years old, just getting started, and now at 56, I get my last accolade from Michigan State, and it’s just an incredible feeling.”
And while he’s not a writer, Duckett is more than excited for this last chapter of the book on his Spartan career.
“I’m thrilled to be part of such an elite class of the Michigan State Athletics Hall of Fame, it’s an extremely huge honor for me,” Duckett said. “It’s something that not everyone gets into, so I’m beyond thrilled to be a part of it.”
