Courtney Hawkins officially back as Jonathan Smith’s WRs coach

Courtney Hawkins has officially been hired by Jonathan Smith as the Spartans’ wide receivers coach on the new staff.

The good news has been rolling in on Monday as Michigan State football fans got a nice break from the nightmare that is the basketball program (crazy to say given the 4-8 season, I know). After hiring Joe Rossi on Sunday, Jonathan Smith made another popular move on Monday: Courtney Hawkins has been retained as receivers coach.

Excited to announce @CoachHawk_5 as Wide Receivers coach!

Courtney Hawkins, a nine-year NFL veteran, has coached Spartan receivers since 2020, including multiple All-Big Ten selections, and NFL Draft picks Jalen Nailor and Jayden Reed.#GoGreen pic.twitter.com/3B1aUD08Sw

— Michigan State Football (@MSU_Football) December 11, 2023

This move is going to make a lot of fans happy as Hawkins was the one coach that people wanted back. He was developing solid receivers and although he didn’t have a ton to work with this year in terms of dependability and experience, he still made a solid impression on Smith.

When you look at what Hawkins has done in East Lansing, you have to give him credit for developing Jayden Reed and Jalen Nailor into NFL receivers and the same can be said for Keon Coleman who would have been an early-round pick in the upcoming NFL draft even if he stayed in this horrible Michigan State offense. With Jay Johnson gone and an offensive-minded head coach now in charge of the team, it’s safe to say that Hawkins will have his best chance to succeed in East Lansing yet.

The former NFL wideout and Michigan State standout is a fan-favorite in East Lansing and him returning only means that recruits are going to see it and love it. Heck, Nick Marsh already has.

You ready Hawk? Let's go get em! #TheDawgsOut#GreenLight✅ pic.twitter.com/vC1lWmEWym

— Nicholas “Megatron” Marsh (@NickMarsh_11) December 11, 2023

This is just the news everyone needed after a rough weekend that saw Michigan State hoops lose at Nebraska and fall to 4-5 on the year.

Smith is getting the job done early on and it looks like his recruiting efforts on his first official visit weekend as head coach could yield more good news in the immediate future.