Katin Houser opens up about interesting relationship with Mel Tucker

Former Michigan State quarterback Katin Houser opened up on an ECU podcast about his relationship with Mel Tucker.

Who would have thought a couple of years ago after an 11-2 Peach Bowl-winning season and subsequent landing of four-star quarterback Katin Houser that Mel Tucker and Michigan State football could have had a tumultuous parting of ways?

Definitely not me and probably not you either.

The two sides seemed to be a great fit with the program turned around and another 10-plus-win season under Michigan State’s belt. But just as quickly as the Tucker era sparked excitement, it fostered some resentment as the Spartans missed a bowl game because of poor coaching in 2022 and then the head coach was fired a few games into 2023 because of a controversial phone call.

It’s hard to believe that excitement was at an all-time high ahead of the 2022 season when Houser was getting to campus but that quickly fizzled away and the young quarterback never got to experience success in East Lansing unfortunately.

Now that Houser is at East Carolina, he’s hoping for a fresh start. And while he’s not the starter for Week 1 of the 2024 season, he’s going to be right there, pushing Jake Garcia for the QB1 job all year long.

But he was asked about his relationship with his new coach, Mike Houston, at East Carolina and he shared some surprising insight about his past interactions with Tucker.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been to his office (since I committed).”

Former MSU QB Katin Houser comments on his relationship with Mel Tucker.

via @HoltAhlersShow pic.twitter.com/WVAX4ODB8L

— Justin Spiro (@DarkoStateNews) August 22, 2024

Houser said that he hadn’t been in Tucker’s office with a personal relationship since committing to the Spartans as a recruit. As a head coach, not having a personal relationship with a guy who could be your QB1 is a bad look. It seems like that was just another knock on Tucker as a coach.

It’s wild to me that you could recruit a kid so hard and convince him to flip his commitment from Boise State to Michigan State only to ignore the fact that he exists on your roster the following year and subsequent offseason when he’s fighting for the starting job.

Another bad look for Tucker.