SI

Georgia LB Nolan Smith Says He Texted Mel Tucker for Advice on Beating Michigan

Michigan State, led by the former Georgia coordinator, is the only team to beat Michigan this year.

Dan Lyons

Georgia LB Nolan Smith Says He Texted Mel Tucker for Advice on Beating Michigan
Georgia LB Nolan Smith Says He Texted Mel Tucker for Advice on Beating Michigan /

Georgia is set to face Michigan in the College Football semifinal at the Orange Bowl, a matchup of one-loss teams for the chance to play for a national championship. Michigan's sole loss came at the hands of rival Michigan State, which happens to be coached by a former Georgia defensive coordinator, Mel Tucker.

Tucker left Athens to take the head coaching job at Colorado in 2019. A year later, he jumped up to Michigan State, and after a rough first year in 2020, led the program to a great 2021 season. He is also 2–0 against Michigan, including this year's 37–33 win. MSU was outgained 552 yards to 395, but running back Kenneth Walker was absolutely dominant, exploding for 197 yards and five touchdowns.

Michigan has only gotten stronger since that loss and is riding a five-game winning streak into the postseason. That run includes dominant wins over Ohio State and Iowa. Some argued they, and not Alabama, should be the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff.

While Tucker hasn't been at Georgia for a few years, there are still some players who know him from that last assistant coaching job. Junior linebacker Nolan Smith says he texted Tucker to ask for advice on facing Michigan ahead of the huge game.

“I tried to talk to Coach Tuck, and you know, Coach Tuck is a head coach now, so he got a lot on his plate,” Smith told the media during a press conference. “So it's not like texting here and there and he'll text right back, so he probably gave me a couple of days to get a text back, and you know, he just told me straight up, he said, ‘Y'all should be able to go in there and give them a good shot.’

“Hopefully he's right and hopefully the things that we talked about, I can transition over to how they play their game and how we're gonna play our game.”

Tucker spent 2016–18 with Georgia, coaching alongside defensive coordinator Dan Lanning and co-defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann. Georgia's defensive philosophy hasn't changed much, even as guys like Tucker and now Lanning have landed huge head coaching jobs after their work under Kirby Smart, so there should be some consistency there.

Both College Football Playoff semifinals will be played on Friday, Dec. 31, with Georgia vs. Michigan kicking off at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.

More College Football Coverage:

Published
Dan Lyons
DAN LYONS

Home/College