Michigan State expected to hire Oregon's Demetrice Martin as CBs coach

Note: Demetrice Martin was officially hired on Jan. 17. This article was originally published on Jan. 16.

Michigan State head coach Jonathan Smith is expected to fill out his coaching staff for 2024 with the hiring of Demetrice Martin.

He will be Smith's 10th and final full-time on-field assistant coach in 2024. Martin is expected to coach cornerbacks/defensive backs for the Spartans.

Spartans Illustrated reported earlier this month that negotiations with Martin were ongoing and that he was trending toward landing at Michigan State, according to sources.

Martin most recently served as Oregon's cornerbacks coach and defensive passing game coordinator under head coach Dan Lanning. He was originally hired in that role in Dec. 2021.

In 2024, Martin is expected to work with secondary coach Blue Adams and help coach the defensive backs in East Lansing. Additionally, Christian Pawola Jr. will assist with coaching the defensive backs as a graduate assistant.

In addition to Adams, Martin joins Joe Rossi (defensive coordinator/linebackers), Legi Suiaunoa (defensive line), and Chad Wilt (co-special teams coordinator and rush ends) on the defensive side of the ball.

On the offensive side of the ball, Smith's assistants include Keith Bhonapha (assistant head coach/running backs/co-special teams coordinator), Brian Lindgren (offensive coordinator/quarterbacks), Brian Wozniak (tight ends/recruiting coordinator), Jim Michalczik (offensive line/run game coordinator), and Courtney Hawkins (wide receivers).

Martin is a California native and Michigan State alumnus. He was a four-year letterwinner for the Spartans as a wide receiver and cornerback from 1992 through 1995. He played for head coaches George Perles and Nick Saban in East Lansing and received first-team All-Big Ten recognition in 1994 when he led the conference with seven interceptions.

He began his coaching career at Monrovia High School (California), where he served as defensive coordinator and secondary coach in 1999 and 2000. He then moved to his alma mater, John Muir High School in Pasadena, California, as the secondary coach in 2001.

After coaching in high school, Martin moved to the junior college ranks. He worked as the secondary coach for Pasadena City College (California) in 2001 and 2002, and then spent the 2003 through 2005 seasons as the pass defense coordinator and secondary coach at Mt. San Antonio College (California).

He broke into the Division I coaching ranks as a graduate assistant at USC under head coach Pete Carroll in 2006 and 2007. He worked with the secondary and helped the Trojans go 22-4 during that two-year span. Martin then returned to Mt. San Antonio College in 2008 as the Mounties' pass defense coordinator and secondary coach.

From 2009 through 2011, Martin was part of Steve Sarkisian's staff at Washington as defensive backs coach. In 2012, Martin went back to Los Angeles to serve as UCLA's defensive backs coach under Jim L. Mora. In addition to his duties as defensive backs coach, Martin was named the Bruins' assistant head coach in 2014. Mora was fired in November of 2017 and Martin parted ways with UCLA after that season as well.

Arizona head coach Kevin Sumlin then hired Martin, where he worked as cornerbacks coach for the Wildcats in 2018 and 2019. After his stint in Tucson, Martin moved to Boulder and spent two seasons at Colorado in 2020 and 2021. He worked as cornerbacks coach for head coach Karl Dorrell during that span.

Martin then joined Lanning in Eugene ahead of the 2022 campaign and has spent the past two seasons with Oregon.

Throughout his career, Martin has worked with multiple NFL draft picks, including Christian Gonzalez, Fabian Moreau, and Taylor Mays.

After Martin's playing career at Michigan State, he signed as a free agent with the St. Louis Rams and spent time on the practice squad in 1996. He also played professionally as a cornerback for the Scottish Claymores in NFL Europe (1997) and for the Houston Thunderbears (1998 and 1999) in the Arena Football League.

In high school, Martin was also a talented baseball player. He was drafted by the Atlanta Braves, but elected to play football at Michigan State instead. Martin earned his bachelor’s degree in Liberal Arts from Excelsior College (New York) in 2006.

In a press release by MSU Athletics published on Jan. 17, Jonathan Smith commented on the hiring of Martin.

"Demetrice Martin brings a tremendous amount of experience to our staff," said Smith. "He has developed players at the highest level, both on and off the field, throughout his entire career. As a former player here, I know he's excited about coming back to East Lansing and being a part of this program once again."

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