Michigan State football poaches CBs coach Demetrice Martin from Oregon

Michigan State football poached cornerbacks coach Demetrice Martin from Oregon and this could do wonders for the defense.

Michigan State football just got a lot better on Tuesday as it poached one of the bigger cornerbacks coaches out there from Oregon.

In fact, Jonathan Smith is getting set to officially hire Demetrice Martin, a former Spartan football player in the 1990s and 15-year defensive backs coach in the Pac-12. He spent time at USC, Washington, UCLA, Arizona, Colorado, and most recently Oregon.

BREAKING: #MichiganState will hire #Oregon CB coach Demetrice Martin, sources tell @SpartanTailgate & @mzenitz.

Big poach for MSU:
– 1994 All-B1G 1st Team at MSU
– 15 years as a PAC-12 DBs coach
– 28 four-star commits
– Former GA for Pete Carroll

More: https://t.co/khaQ5bLPX5 pic.twitter.com/hAuqFerM85

— Justin Thind (@JustinThind) January 16, 2024

Why did Martin spend so much time out west after playing college football at Michigan State where he was a first-team All-Big Ten cornerback in 1994? Well, he’s actually from Los Angeles, Calif., so he’s a West Coast guy. But that’s not the worst news. He’s going to help Smith and the new staff recruit out west where he excelled at his previous stops, landing 28 four-star prospects, according to Justin Thind.

Martin is a solid defensive backs coach who got his start at the high school level and in the JUCO ranks before getting hired as cornerbacks coach under Steve Sarkisian at Washington in 2009 after spending time under Pete Carroll at USC as a grad assistant. He then spent six years at UCLA, two years at Arizona, two years at Colorado, and then the past two (successful) years at Oregon under Dan Lanning.

The former All-Big Ten Spartan was actually rumored as a potential addition to the Michigan State staff under Dantonio when Harlon Barnett left for Florida State but it just never panned out. It’s good to see that the interest was always there.

Smith just continues to make plus moves as Michigan State football coach and this is one that will help both on the field and in recruiting. The Spartans are going to benefit big-time from this poach.