Mike Tressel is “His Own Man.”

Mike Tressel is a great football coach. Sadly, some people will never let him prove that because their lack of integrity only lets them assume when others

Mike Tressel is a great football coach. Sadly, some people will never let him prove that because their lack of integrity only lets them assume when others succeed that they must have done it the wrong way. Some people will never fully appreciate the ability of the MSU coach because they will look at his lineage of coaching greats (father, grandfather and uncle) and think his name got him where he is. You couldn’t be farther from the truth.

 

Mike Tressel Uses His Teaching Prowess at the Women's Clinic. Photo Courtesy of MSU SID

Mike Tressel is one of the best non-coordinators in the nation and it is the Spartan Nation that is blessed to have him. Let’s be frank, the entire staff has done an incredible job since their arrival at MSU, but if you had to single one out, you couldn’t do better than Tressel.

 

He has instilled in his linebackers the mentality of monsters and under his expert tutelage you have seen Greg Jones rise from obscure Minnesota commit to elite status in the nation. Jones told me, “Coach Tressel knows how to teach.  If you are struggling with something he goes right back to teaching. He tells you that if you aren’t getting it, then he must not be teaching it. I love to learn about football and he loves to teach it.” 

 

That mentality hasn’t only benefited Jones. “Coach Tressel, one of the smartest coaches out there and is such a great teacher. The time he takes to teach individually makes him easy to understand and is on the top of my list. As a person he is always there. If I had a problem I wouldn’t hesitate to call him,” was how junior OLB Eric Gordon described him.

 

Jones and Gordon aren’t the only linebackers to sing their coach’s praise. “He is such a great coach but an even better person. He has taught me a lot about football and even more about life. I love him,” was Jon Misch’s sentiments.

 

Tressel is personable and caring and that love of his players is what separates great coaches and leaders like him. He follows the motto; people don’t care what you know, until they know how much you care. “This business ultimately isn’t about X’s and O’s. Of course that is a huge part, but football is a team game. There is a lot more about the team than just the three linebackers on the field or the 100 players. This game is about relationships with people and that is how Coach Dantonio demonstrates it to us, and that is how I feel also.”

 

Praise for the head coach from Tressel is reciprocated back to his young protégé from Dantonio himself. Coach D told me, “Coach Tressel is a deeply caring person and an extremely talented coach and has a great family and is a terrific father. He is truly an  outstanding coach who has been with me as a person for 8 years.”

 

How much respect and trust does Dantonio have for Tressel? He handpicked him to be the coordinator of his special teams. Dantonio has said to me, “Special teams in all areas is the most important area in football,” and he gives Tressel the job as commander of that ship.

 

Tressel is not only liked and respected by his players and head coach, but from his immediate boss, defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi. “Mike is, simply put, in all areas, coach, dad and as a person one of the best. He is so good at what he does and makes this football team so much better. We are really fortunate to have him here.”

 

It is fair to look at the Tressel lineage that Mike proudly carries, but spend any time with the MSU LB coach and you quickly learn that he is his own man. “My family tried hard to get me to look at some other things, but football was in my blood,” was how Tressel described his choice of the coaching profession. “I just love this game. I get excited for practice, for game day, for recruiting and each day I get out of bed and get to be a football coach at Michigan State with Mark Dantonio. It shouldn’t and doesn’t take any motivation to love that.”

 

“Ultimately what really matters in life and in football are the peoples’ lives that you affect. Those people who you were able to touch and make a difference in,” was how Tressel explained his love for what he does.

 

His love of his players and genuine caring is what separates him and many of the MSU coaches and it hasn’t gone unnoticed by the parents of the young men he leads. “Mike Tressel is a wonderful guy. He is hard to describe, energetic and really motivates the LB crew and I am just so proud of him and thankful for what he has done for my son and what he means to Eric,” was Mike Gordon’s opinion. 

 

Lori Misch chimed in, “Coach Tressel has truly loved and cared for Jon and I am so thankful.” Finally, Greg Jones Sr. shares the appreciation of Greg’s leader. “Coach Tressel is a great man and coach and we can’t thank him enough for what he has meant to Greg as a football player and person.”

 

Lastly, I asked his Uncle, Jim Tressel, arguably the best coach in college football, about his nephew who he dearly loves and is close to. “Mike had so much enthusiasm and energy for life growing up. You could tell that whatever field he chose he would be great at it because he had that fire and enthusiasm. I love and respect Mike who is a great coach as a person more. I couldn’t be prouder. He has really grown into his own man.”

 

The Spartan Nation respects Coach Mike Tressel also, and for a lot more than the winning he has brought to MSU. He has truly imparted a lot more important things than football into the players in his charge, he has taught by example, life lessons. He is a great coach. He is one of a long line of great coaches named Tressel, but like his uncle says, this MSU coach is without a doubt, “His own man.”

 

This article is reprinted from the July Spartan Nation Magazine.