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EAST LANSING – Two days before the early signing period opens, Michigan State football lost one commitment and landed another.
Jonathan Smith also reportedly will lose his first assistant coach after his debut season with the Spartans.
Demetrice Martin, an MSU alum, will return to his hometown and UCLA as defensive passing game coordinator and oversee the Bruins’ entire secondary, according to On3.com. He served as cornerbacks coach in his one season back with the Spartans and split duties with secondary coach Blue Adams, who followed Smith from Oregon State.
The move makes sense for Martin, who played cornerback for George Perles and Nick Saban from 1992-95 at MSU. The 51-year-old – who shares the same hometown as Smith of Pasadena, California – spent the previous 14 seasons as an assistant in the Pac-10/Pac-12 with Washington, UCLA, Arizona, Colorado and most recently Oregon. He was the Bruins’ defensive backs coach from 2012-17, adding assistant head coach title under Jim Mora Jr. from 2014-17.
Michigan State’s cornerbacks coach Demetrice Martin works with players during the first day of football camp on Tuesday, July 30, 2024, in East Lansing.
Martin was the last of the assistant coaching hires in January for Smith, who also recruited Martin’s younger brother while at Idaho, and defensive coordinator Joe Rossi. In April, Martin said he had not been back to MSU in 30 years before joining Smith’s initial staff and had not previously coached east of Colorado. He made $450,000 in the first of a two-year contract this season.
The Spartans (5-7) had eight key players out in the secondary by the end of the season, including starting cornerbacks Charles Brantley and Chance Rucker, and missed a bowl game for the third straight year and fourth time in the last five with Saturday’s 41-14 loss to Rutgers.
With…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/michigan-state-football-reportedly-losing-020839567.html
Author : Detroit Free Press
Publish date : 2024-12-03 02:08:00
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