Interview: 5-Star 2017 U.S. Army All-American K/P Tucker Day Talks Mississippi State Commitment

Written by Ryan Wright

Twitter: @HogManInLA

The term athlete in football is typically used for a player who can line up at multiple positions on the field and sometimes that guy who can play on both sides of the ball. A lot of skill position players get the label. Rarely, if ever, does a special teams player who can fill several roles on a roster get the same respect. That notion could change in 2017 with Tucker Day.

Day has been lauded high praise on and off the field earning five-star status by kicking expert Chris Sailer as both a punter and kicker. Tennessee coaches and local media have helped honor him as a repeat first team All-State performer and the U.S. Army All-American Game selected Day as one of the top players in the nation competing in their 2017 event. Maybe the biggest honor of all is seven college programs extending a scholarship offer to Day.

All of the accolades on the field at the high school level are meaningless without a next level opportunity. Tucker earned all of the praise by showing out on the field and backing that up at kicking camps competing against his peers. In 2015, Day sported a 44.5 yard per punt average, sailed 26-of-28 kickoffs for a touchback, and nailed 14 field goals from distances of 52-, 51-, 50-, and 49-yards against 5A competition.

The 6-2, 205 pound, athlete continued his rare athletic feats during his senior season helping Brentwood High School to a 9-5 record. Out of 72 kickoffs by Day, only eight were brought out of the end zone in 2016. He was a scoring machine booting 15 field goal tries through with a long of 50-yards and hit 48-of-51 PATs. Day’s punt average in 2016 was shortened to 40.5 yards with a lot of pooch kicks placing 14-of-48 inside the 20 yard line. Offers for kickers and/or punters are rare. Seeing Day with seven from San Diego State, Colorado State, Illinois, Rutgers, Army, Navy, and Mississippi State might as well be on par with a confirmed Yeti sighting.

On Sunday, Jan. 15, Day was on his way home from an official visit to Starkville leaving the state of Mississippi with what he thought was still a preferred walk-on offer. As the car rolled down the road heading to Nashville, and a two hour nap came to a conclusion, Day realized that his dream to play SEC football on a full-ride scholarship was becoming a reality via a text message. In a Recruiting News Guru exclusive interview, I sat down with Day to find out how interest turned to offer and then became a commitment with Mississippi State.

Interview

Tucker, before we get into your commitment how many offers do you have?

“San Diego State, Colorado State, Illinois, Rutgers, Army, Navy, and Mississippi State.”

Which schools did you officially visit?

“Illinois, San Diego State, and Mississippi State.”

In general, how did you narrow down your schools?

“For me, it was pretty obvious I wanted to play the biggest football I could. You only get one shot at the NFL. If you have a shot in college to play at the highest level you should take it. At the highest level you have a shot at being a part of something big and special in college, I wanted that. I wanted a school close to home. I loved Illinois, SDSU, and Rutgers. The plane flights would be expensive for my parents. They would not be able to go to many of my games. I guess overall I wanted to play in the SEC.”

What was the recruiting process like for you with Mississippi State?

“I did not have an offer from them. Originally they were going to have me as preferred walk-on with a lot of academic money (Day has a 3.65 weighted GPA and scored a 29 on the ACT!). After this weekend, I was trying to see if I could change the plan to make it cheaper for my family. I went into the weekend hopeful (official visit). It was a blast. That was my favorite out of the three. I did not get an offer by the time we left. When I left Coach (Dan) Mullen’s (head coach) office it was still a preferred walk-on offer.

“I fell asleep in the car on the way home. After a two hour nap I saw that I had a full-ride offer from Coach Mullen in a text. Coach (Chris) Boniol (special teams coach), he is one of the best coaches in the technical training of kicking at the college level. If anyone could help me improve to play in the NFL, I thought he would give me the best chance. I called Coach Boniol right away.”

Seeing what is likely coming, when you called Coach Boniol right away to find out what was going on, what was going through your mind?

“When I picked up my phone and turned it on Coach Boniol had messaged me about Coach Mullen’s text message with a bunch of exclamation marks and question marks. I saw Coach Mullen’s message right below it. I told my parents ‘I think I just got a full-ride offer from MSU.’ They said ‘what are you talking about?’ I called Coach Mullen, I was excited yet confused. Coach Boniol answered. I said ‘I have a question, what does the text mean?’ He said ‘it is exactly what it means, you have a full-ride scholarship offer to Mississippi State.’ I started screaming. I wanted to commit right then. Coach Boniol told me to talk to my parents first. I hung up, talked to my parents for about 10 minutes, and called Mullen back and said I was committing. He said thank you and came to see me the very next day.”

Coach Mullen had to know it was coming, but what was his reaction when you officially committed to him?

“When I called him I said, “Hey Coach, I am committing.” He said ‘oh you are.’ I said, “Yes, sir.” He said ‘well great. We are happy to have you aboard.’ I don’t think he was shocked at all by the tone in his voice. I talked to him for a couple of minutes. He said ‘we are really happy you are a Bulldog, I cannot wait to see you tomorrow’. That was pretty much it.”

Are you shutting down your recruiting now that you are committed to MSU?

“Yes, I am.”

Did the coaches talk to you about working on parts of your game in the off-season?

“Just about getting quicker and working on my consistency.”

You can kickoff, kick field goals, and punt. Which position or positions might they use you at next year or beyond that?

“I’m coming in as a freshman that can do all three but it depends on what they need. They have a senior punter. He is good but he has had some injuries. They may want me to do kickoffs. They may want me to do field goals too. Coach Mullen said ‘you will probably be the field goal guy next year.’ It depends if Joseph Bulobas commits to MSU or not. After my freshman year I will probably be the starting punter and kickoff guy.”

Coach Mullen followed up your official to Starkville with an in-home visit. How did that go, how long did he stay, and what all did you guys talk about then?

“He stayed for about two hours. We talked about a lot of stuff like sports, my commitment, and food.”

What did you do to celebrate your commitment?

“My parents took me out to eat at one of my favorite burger places and then we went to a movie.”

Tucker, congratulations on your commitment to Mississippi State. Good luck with your off-season workouts.

“Thank you.”

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Photo credit: Day family; Tucker Day with MSU head coach Dan Mullen.

Photo credit: Day family; Tucker Day with parents at MSU.