Jonathan Smith reportedly retaining Courtney Hawkins

New Michigan State coach Jonathan Smith is rumored to be retaining wide receivers coach and Spartan legend Courtney Hawkins.

We’ve seen a lot of good news coming out of East Lansing over the past few days, outside of the transfers. On Saturday, Jonathan Smith was officially announced as the next head coach and then it was reported that he was bringing his offensive line, tight end, defensive backs, and running backs coaches with him.

The staff began to fill out quickly and many wondered if he would be retaining any Michigan State coaches.

Two names immediately came to mind: Harlon Barnett and Courtney Hawkins.

Barnett was rumored to be returning as he was telling recruits just that recently. That seemed to be a great move by Smith, keeping a coach with Michigan State and Midwest ties on the staff who players love. We don’t know what his role will be yet, but Barnett is a great guy to retain.

As for Hawkins, all had remained quiet on that front — until Tuesday.

According to a report from SpartanMag.com, Hawkins is likely to be retained by Smith and become his receivers coach.

NEW: Michigan State head coach Jonathan Smith is expected to retain wide receiver coach Courtney Hawkins, sources tell @TheSpartanMag

(On3+): https://t.co/rwEiw1SX5O pic.twitter.com/kUnGfEcgpR

— SpartanMag.com (@TheSpartanMag) November 28, 2023

This is a great move for a number of reasons. No. 1 being the fact that Hawkins is the primary recruiter for Nick Marsh and that’s a recruit that the Spartans will want to keep committed. All signs are pointing to Marsh remaining solid with the Spartans and signing next month. Another reason would be Hawkins’ ability to develop receivers. He turned Jayden Reed and Jalen Nailor into NFL wideouts and did the same with Keon Coleman. Although Coleman transferred to Florida State, he did say that he came to MSU to learn how to play the position. Why? Hawkins is a great receivers coach.

On top of that, he’s in the middle of developing guys like Tyrell Henry, Jaron Glover, and Antonio Gates Jr. He’s a strong recruiter of receivers and the more guys he puts in the NFL, the more likely it is that he continues to recruit at a high level.

This is a great move by Smith. And it’ll be popular with fans.