Mel Tucker shares feelings on Big Ten now requiring injury reports

Mel Tucker and the Michigan State Spartans are getting prepared for their 2023 season opener against Central Michigan on Friday. But recently, the conference made some adjustments to rules on player availability in the future.

It was recently announced that the Big Ten will require football teams to provide injury reports on game days. These reports are similar to the ones the NFL uses to notify the public of players and their status for the upcoming game. So how does this new rule affect Tucker and his Spartans, and what are the differences he sees between the Big Ten’s new rule in comparison to the NFL’s?

“It doesn’t change anything for me right now, today. It’s relatively new. And so, we’ll follow the rules best we can,” said Tucker. “I’m sure we’ll have to iron some things out. There are not as many categories, as I understand it, as we had in the NFL. But it doesn’t change anything for me at this point.”

Given Tucker’s experience at the professional level, this rule and how to navigate it should be easy for him and his program. Still, there are more pressing matters for the Spartans’ headman to be concerned with. Like bouncing back from last year’s 5-7 finish, a year removed from leading Michigan State to an 11-2 record, and just missing the College Football Playoff in 2021.

Tucker on Michigan State quarterback battle: ‘We’ll see who runs out there first on Friday night’

One area that Tucker is focusing on ahead of Michigan State’s season opener is a quarterback. And the Spartans’ headman is giving no clues as to whom they will roll out at starting quarterback for their season opener.

With last year’s starter Payton Thorne transferring this offseason, redshirt junior Noah Kim and redshirt freshman Katin Houser have been in a battle since the spring.

Appearing in front of media with Michigan State preparing to face Central Michigan on Friday, Tucker was asked if a winner has emerged between the two. Regardless of whether not one has, he declined to make it known to the public.

“We’ll see who runs out there first on Friday night and then we’ll go from there,” Tucker said.

Kim brings four years of experience in the Spartans system after joining the team in the 2020 season. He appeared in four games this past year to finish 14-of-19 passing for 174 yards and three touchdowns. His best performance came against Ohio State in which he went 6-of-10 passing for 82 yards and a touchdown.

Houser played just six snaps last season as he took a redshirt as a four-star freshman out of St. John Bosco (CA) High School. He ranked as the No. 210 overall recruit and the No. 13 quarterback in the 2022 cycle according to the On3 Industry Rating, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.