Spartans Begin Spring Practice
3/23/2021
The Michigan State football team held its first spring practice on Tuesday morning with temperatures in the high-50s on the MSU campus.
Although Mel Tucker is entering his second season at the helm of the Spartans, this marks his first spring practice as head coach at MSU, as spring practice was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 15 spring practices are scheduled to run through April 24.
“We had a good day today,” said Tucker, who met with the media for 45 minutes on Zoom following the practice. “It was a good start. In our out-of-season conditioning program, our Spartan Training Program, we had eight weeks of running and lifting and drill work, walk throughs and meetings. I feel like our guys did a really good job. My hat goes off to Coach (Jason) Novak and his staff. I believe a team is built in the weight room. They did a fantastic job. Our guys are all bought in for what they’re doing in the weight room, what we’re doing in nutrition, and we were very prepared for spring practice today.”
The Spartans practiced for two hours on the outdoor turf field behind the Duffy Daugherty Football Building in helmets, jerseys and shorts.
“I feel like today we were very productive, very competitive, but it’s really just one step in the process. A very important step, but we’re just excited to be out there – just to think, a year ago, we didn’t have this opportunity. We didn’t get a chance to do any of this, so we’re going to make the most of it.”-Head Football Coach Mel Tucker
Michigan State will host its annual Pro Day on Wednesday, March 23 before returning to the practice field on Thursday, March 24.
“What we’re looking for in the spring is to gain ground and get better – that’s really what it’s all about,” Tucker said. “It’s our third phase of our out-of-season, and really sets the tone for our summer conditioning program and then we’ll roll that into fall camp. Our focus is on being best conditioned, playing with great technique and fundamentals, playing smart, playing fast and playing physical. The job of a coach is to teach, motivate and develop our players. So this is all part of that process, to gain ground, trust the process, and today was a day to do that. We have 15 practices, we’re going Tuesday, Thursday and Saturdays for five weeks, and we don’t have one day to waste.”
First day ? #RELENTLESS pic.twitter.com/YseyrAWhpC
— Michigan State Football (@MSU_Football) March 23, 2021
