MSU Football: 97.1's Mike Valenti blasts Mel Tucker for NIL comments
Expectations for Michigan State football heading into the 2023 season have been tempered by last year's disappointing 5-7 campaign. The Spartans' drastic falloff from an 11-2 season the year prior has caused angst amongst MSU's fanbase.
No where is that more prevalent than 97.1 The Ticket's radio talk show host Mike Valenti, who is a Michigan State alum.
Head coach Mel Tucker, in a recent exclusive interview with the Lansing State Journal's Graham Crouch, bemoaned Michigan State's lack of fundraising for Name, Image and Likeness to be used in high school recruiting.
“I don’t know how we can expect to win the Big Ten and get in the playoffs and win a national title if we don’t have the best players," Tucker told Crouch. "I don’t know how you do that...NIL is a big issue right now. You’ve got teams in the conference spending $12-13 million on NIL. We’re not even close to that.”
Asked how much Michigan State needs in order to compete with the best of the Big Ten, Tucker was non-committal.
“I don’t know what the number is," he said. "I just know it boggles my mind how there can be an expectation to compete at the highest level, but not be at the highest level in any other areas. I just don’t know how this happens.”
On his radio show, the Mike Valenti Show w/ Rico, Valenti expressed his frustration with Tucker's comments.
“I don’t think Mel Tucker is exemplifying leadership," Valenti said. "And, frankly, when you’re paid as one of the Top 5, Top 6, Top 8 coaches in the country, ain’t nobody trying to here it. How about this Mel? Do a better job fundraising.
“If Mel Tucker’s telling me, ‘Hey, Ohio State’s spending 12 or 13 million and MSU is spending five.’ If you’re the head coach at Michigan State University and you can’t fundraise three million, four million, six million dollars then you’re not the right man for the job.”
While Valenti and co-host Rico Beard both acknowledged the importance of name, image and likeness funding in the modern era of major college athletics, Valenti pointed out that a lack of NIL money was not related to the Spartans' losses to smaller brand programs like Minnesota and Indiana last season.
“NIL ain’t got nothing to do with not being able to kick a field goal," Valenti said. "[Or], with having two overpaid coordinators who you chose not to get rid of. Maybe that’s why people don’t want to donate. NIL has nothing to do with letting Minnesota come to town and smoke you like one of your fine cigars, in your own house.”
Valenti vehemently disagrees with Tucker's decision to retain both offensive coordinator Jay Johnson and defensive coordinator Scottie Hazelton this offseason.
“Look, the 11-2 was fantastic…Mel, the same problems that existed during 11-2 existed last year, and you know what you did to fix them? Nothing," Valenti said.
“You keep letting Santa Claus collect a million dollars a year. You still have an offensive coordinator that, without No. 9, I have yet to see a cohesive identity on offense. And if you think that doesn’t tell your donor base, or tell your fanbase, that either you don’t care or you don’t know how to fix it – One of the coordinators should have been taken out last year and swapped out for something new.”
Michigan State enters the season with an over-under expected win total set at 5.5 games in most betting sportsbooks. Valenti believes Tucker's comments on NIL is the head coach's way of lowering expectations for the Spartans this fall.
“I think he’s doing something that I really hate that coaches do. He, in a round-about way, is trying to temper expectations," Valenti said. "This is the same man who walked in saying championships were the goal. This is the same man who walked in saying if you can’t recruit to Michigan State, you can’t recruit.
“I find the comments disturbing and, frankly, if they’re not all in on the future, if they’re going to be competitive at NIL, they will go nowhere. And I hope Mel Tucker invests his money wisely, because he won’t be there. They will get murdered in this new Big Ten. Murdered.”
The full segment from the Mike Valenti show w/ Rico regarding Mel Tucker's NIL comments can be viewed below:
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