MSU wide receiver Jalen Nailor declares for the NFL draft.
? out! T.M.C. ? pic.twitter.com/Qgmntj4x3E
— Jalen R. Nailor (@SpeedyNailor) January 3, 2022
January 3rd, 2022 at 7:45 PM ^
I should just get it out of the way for all the posters who will say LOL Sparty will suck and go 4-8 next year.
I don’t think this will really be a huge deal for them since he was constantly hurt anyway. If they lose Reed that would hurt.
January 3rd, 2022 at 9:14 PM ^
It’s a significant loss for them. He was having a pretty big year until he got hurt against us. Their passing game wasn’t nearly the same without him (he came back for the bowl).
January 4th, 2022 at 8:20 AM ^
I'd agree with this. He was still their second leading receiver with the best average per catch despite missing the entire month of November. Assuming he plays reasonably well over the four games he missed, he ends up with stats reasonably close to what Reed had.
Sure, that stretch in November included the game they played against Ohio State, but it also included Maryland.
January 3rd, 2022 at 7:50 PM ^
With Nailor, Walker and likely Jayden Reed gone, we'll see next year if Tucker is standing on second base because he hit a double.
January 3rd, 2022 at 8:08 PM ^
Well, he cobbled that team together from a pretty bad situation himself, so he was the one who got the hit. The question is whether he’s a guy who has a great OPS or if he’s a guy who swings for the fences but hits .245 and strikes out a ton.
January 4th, 2022 at 10:10 AM ^
A guy can have a great OPS while swinging for the fences and striking out a ton.
January 3rd, 2022 at 9:18 PM ^
The fact they they had close to the worst pass defense in the country and still only lost two games is astounding. Take away Walker, Nailor, Heyward, and possibly Reed? Yikes.
January 4th, 2022 at 2:36 AM ^
not astounding.
They should have lost to us.
Who else did they beat that was even decent?
January 4th, 2022 at 6:16 AM ^
Should've lost to Nebraska too, bit their punter kicked the ball to the only guy outside of the coverage so he could run it in for the winning score.
January 4th, 2022 at 9:55 AM ^
Yeah, credit to Tucker for only losing 2 games with that lousy pass defense, but their schedule was not hard at all (best wins are us, obviously, and a road win over a so-so Miami and a close home win over pesky Penn State). However, they were super lucky to beat Nebraska and should have lost to us if not for referee malpractice. But legitimately, they lost their 2 toughest road games (Ohio State, Purdue), and one of those by a lot. And needed a Heisman RB not to lose more.
(I'm not saying anything about the bowl game, Kenny Pickett didn't play so they got the worst version of Pitt possible, who was already a good but shaky ACC team)
Tucker will really prove his worth next year with a schedule including @Washington, Ohio State, @Michigan, @Penn State, Wisconsin and Minnesota
January 4th, 2022 at 3:40 PM ^
To be fair, about 7 teams could have a post that says “they should have lost to Nebraska, but…” someone on Nebraska blew it
January 4th, 2022 at 9:52 AM ^
Also take away 5-6 6th year bonus players as well, OL 2 deep loses 8 guys by my count with Jarvis declaring.
January 3rd, 2022 at 9:55 PM ^
Did Jayden Reed announce that he is leaving?
January 3rd, 2022 at 10:30 PM ^
They also just lost Jarvis a year early who was probably their best lineman.
They graduate starters Allen, C and Acuri RT, Campbell 1st tackle off the bench and rumors are starting LT Horst is leaving early.
Their line was not all that great and could be a hot mess next year.
January 4th, 2022 at 8:09 AM ^
The Ryan Day analysis is valid. This is not. I despise Michigan State, but Tucker is a damned good coach. There is no way he should have a single win against us and has two.
January 4th, 2022 at 10:32 AM ^
What has he proven to be "damned good coach?" Beating the worst Harbaugh team with Milton as QB and stumbling across a Heisman contender in the portal? He was bad his first year and had Kenneth Walker his second year, while also having 3 games he was lucky to win
January 4th, 2022 at 11:40 AM ^
The year #1 win, I keep going back to the second quarter, where it's first and 10 from the MSU 11 yard line. Why Michigan ran the Haskins fake run pass play??? Simmons does make an incredible play to break up the pass but if Michigan scores a touchdown on that drive instead of kicking the field goal, they win the game.
Last year, MSU had two-weeks to prepare and that officiating was horrible. I'm not talking about whether a holding call should have been made but the strip sack touchdown called back as well as no real review of Reed's two-point conversion catch.
January 4th, 2022 at 9:52 AM ^
A conversation I frequently have with friends who are Sparty fans is the transfer portal one.
I'm probably overly critical of the fact that Tucker used it so heavily. They treat it like a talent and logical solution. They're probably right, but my retort then is one of sustainability. How do you recruit HS talent effectively if you rely too heavily on that strategy? What happens when you miss? I assume credits transfer more easily (not at shot at MSU academics) so it doesn't necessarily mean they'll strictly have transfers who only stay for a year. But I have to believe that a strategy that doesn't have a foundation of talent development will be difficult to sustain.
They DID sign a top 25 class and have a few interesting pieces coming in via the portal (including a Wisconsin RB and Florida EDGE), but that would project them, talent-wise, as a fringe top 20-25 team if that's what they sustain each year.
We talk about the talent gap we have against Alabama, Georgia, A&M, oSU, and sometimes ND. It's been a problem that we still overcome on occasion, but we're certainly second tier and we need to get maximum performance in any game to overcome it. Most everything has to go right for us, while not going right for them in those scenarios. Rivalry "throw the records out and anything can happen" stuff applies, but MSU is clearly in a third tier. There are worse places to be, but it will be worth watching to see if Tucker plans to bring in a dozen or more transfers more often than not, or if once he gets HIS kids in place he'll just go for guys to fill a few holes or take a run at spots where there isn't obvious need but if you have a chance at better talent you take it.
January 4th, 2022 at 10:10 AM ^
Your point about the transfer portal and not being sustainable is apt because the NCAA changed the rules about how many players you could bring in via the portal specifically due to MSU just hoovering up a couple dozen players. Now it's a limit of 7 per year.
January 4th, 2022 at 11:21 AM ^
Tucker has done very well....seems silly to me to think otherwise.... but the real question is if he can win without Thorne, who is steady, and was Dantonio's find.
January 3rd, 2022 at 7:51 PM ^
Thank lord that guy was a pain in the ass to play against.
January 3rd, 2022 at 8:02 PM ^
Ate out?
January 3rd, 2022 at 8:25 PM ^
*OP’s mom has entered the chat*
January 3rd, 2022 at 9:04 PM ^
Overtaken Ass has also entered the chat.
January 3rd, 2022 at 9:30 PM ^
I will just say that my mind also went there, so don't feel bad about having less than clean thoughts in your head.
That made me wonder if it wasn't a declaration of another kind, of course, and then I wondered why that would be part of his NFL Draft announcement.
January 3rd, 2022 at 8:18 PM ^
Good news! Has Reed made any indication on his plans for next year?
January 3rd, 2022 at 8:47 PM ^
I think Thorne is trying to convince him to stay..
January 3rd, 2022 at 8:59 PM ^
Reed imo was quite underrated and an excellent wr. Would be suprised if he came back.
January 3rd, 2022 at 9:15 PM ^
I think he's good too. He had a better and healthier year than Nailor. He got over 1,000 receiving yards. I'd think he would go, but who knows.
January 3rd, 2022 at 10:37 PM ^
Nailor was a challenge but Reed is an absolute handful to cover. If MSU loses both they get hurt significantly.
The WR rosters in the Big Ten are pretty remarkable when you look at OSU, UofM and add Bell, Reed, Dotson.
It seems to me that some guys are leaving early from MSU that could possibly use another year. I don’t think Mel makes life easy there.
January 3rd, 2022 at 8:50 PM ^
Hopefully they have an Indiana type turn around this year!
January 3rd, 2022 at 8:58 PM ^
Weird that Indiana went from first to last to first to last over the last four seasons.
January 3rd, 2022 at 9:49 PM ^
MSU can't win the portal lottery twice. And they have a brutal schedule next year.
January 4th, 2022 at 8:03 AM ^
7-5 book it.
January 4th, 2022 at 9:58 AM ^
I think 8-4 is more likely, but playing @Washington and Ohio State in September is rough, then @Michigan, @Penn State, Wisconsin and Minnesota later on will show us how good Tucker really is, especially without Walker III and Nailor.
January 3rd, 2022 at 9:56 PM ^
I think you spelled CFL wrong.
January 3rd, 2022 at 10:19 PM ^
The MSU hate is childish. Mel Tucker is for real. I want to kick his ass too, but I'm giving credit where due. He is good for them...
And, this player was smart. Playing in the Peach Bowl probably helped his draft position.
January 3rd, 2022 at 10:40 PM ^
Hating on MSU is not childish, it part of fandom. As for Mel Tucker, I will acknowledge the record he put together this year. What I am questioning (and some other posters here), is that he did it by hitting the lottery in the transfer portal. And I know this is new but that just does not seem like the most stable way to build a lasting program......
January 3rd, 2022 at 11:02 PM ^
He’s doing it anyway he can whether it’s portal or recruiting. He won some games and it landed him in a pile of money.
January 4th, 2022 at 1:22 AM ^
The fact over a dozen players have entered the transfer portal says something as well.
Simply put, the recruiting momentum their fans cream themselves over, really isn't as great as they think it is, and without a few significant transfers they are going to have some big big holes that may become fatal weeknesses.
January 4th, 2022 at 5:58 AM ^
Stop. We are going to have a dozen players in the portal as well. We have to considering we are about 12 over on scholarships right now. Like it or not; that’s how football is going to be from now on. Teams are going to let kids know they should move on if they aren’t playing, and the portal makes it easy to do so.
January 4th, 2022 at 6:34 AM ^
Don't discount the portal. There are multiple posts on this board talking abt how good players are transferring for better opportunities and/or more exposure. He's not gonna find another Heisman candidate, but finding potential contributors in the portal to fill out a team isn't a reach anymore.
January 4th, 2022 at 9:46 AM ^
You are supporting my point. Yes, the transfer portal is a new form of recruiting / source for players. But my point is that he hit a Home Run in getting Walker. It is not overstating that without Walker (or getting just an average RB), MSU finishes much closer to 6-6 than 11-2 and now that is what he has to repeat for the next couple of years until his recruited kids take over the majority of his team....
January 4th, 2022 at 9:48 AM ^
Aw crap. My cherry is broken....
My first double post.....
January 4th, 2022 at 5:04 AM ^
I don’t know that you can say he’s doing it with recruiting. That remains to be seen. Nobody he’s recruited has played a major role yet.
He hit the portal hard and god a huge hit with Walker. He carried the team and they won a couple games they should have lost. Neither of those are sustainable models for success. That’s all anyone is really saying.
January 4th, 2022 at 11:24 AM ^
This was my point, good fortune in the transfer portal will not last forever
January 3rd, 2022 at 11:20 PM ^
Yeah, I'm not sure you can with certainty call someone who is 18-14 (college) 2-3 (NFL) for real. I'm not ready to anoint him the next Dantonia yet.
January 4th, 2022 at 8:35 AM ^
Considering he already had several games of 99+ receiving yards in his career, I don't think doing so against Pitt's garbage defense really meant much.
January 4th, 2022 at 11:06 AM ^
Mel Tucker is for real
Still genuinely curious why so many people think he's so good at this point. Had a bad first season and would've lost probably 5 games this year without stumbling upon a Heisman RB
January 4th, 2022 at 11:55 AM ^
Is Tucker for real?
Dantonio left Tucker a Big Ten top 5 QB, an extremely talented set of WR's in Reed, Nailor and Wright and a solid defensive line. Last season my MSU friends kept complaining about how vanilla Tucker's running attack was.
This season, the football gods blessed Tucker with the best running back in college football which no one knew at the time. After watching the Peach Bowl, watching the MSU rushing attack was right back to that vanilla looking rushing attack. Walker succeeded in spite of Tucker.
Tucker won 11 games and that is amazing but do you think the 2016 Harbaugh team also couldn't have won 11 games with that schedule?
Like Tom Allen and Indiana, I think MSU is going to take a big step back next season and some of that shine is going to rub off of Tucker.