Michigan State reportedly hiring alum, Oregon cornerbacks coach Demetrice Martin

Michigan State head coach Jonathan Smith is making a notable addition to his new staff in East Lansing, bringing in Demetrice Martin to coach cornerbacks, according to Matt Zenitz. He’s an alum of the school and played football for the Spartans in the mid-1990s.

Martin joins the Spartans after a stint coaching corners at Oregon. Martin has a long history coaching in the Pac-12, working at Colorado, Arizona, UCLA and Washington among other stops prior to Oregon.

Martin also served as Oregon’s defensive pass game coordinator in his time in Eugene.

During his playing career, Martin earned All-Big Ten honors in 1994 when he led the league in interceptions with seven.

Smith discussed filling out his coaching staff in December

Coming over from Oregon State, the former Beavers leader received rave reviews when he was hired by the Spartans’ brass. He quickly got to building out his staff, but some open spots remain open on the Big Ten staff.

Speaking with the media, Smith elaborated on how he plans to fill them, explaining that he’s not going to rush the decision.

“Kind of fluid on those last two spots,” Smith said, regarding Michigan State’s openings at the moment. “Kind of just thinking through again. Getting (MSU defensive coordinator) coach [Joe] Rossi over here, in regards to some of his vision, to finalize the defensive side. The special teams side as well. So we’ll kind of see.

“Was not going to rush on those decision. Wanted to make sure — again, the particular person, the fit and the fit on both sides. And then the current set up of finalizing defense and answering for special teams. We’re sorting that out.”

One of the coaches who won’t be remaining with Smith in East Lansing is former Spartans interim head coach Harlon Barnett.

According to the Lansing State Journal’s Graham Couch, the longtime Spartans figure will not be a part of Smith’s staff going forward. When asked about moving on from the Spartans program, Barnett had this to say.

“After 20 football seasons at Michigan State, five as a player, 15 as a coach, my time is up. It’s time for me to move on. I’m looking for opportunities at other programs, be it college or the NFL. I’m excited about it. It’s time,” Barnett said, according to Couch.

Barnett was originally hired by former Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio to be the Spartans’ secondary coach in 2007. Over his eleven years under Dantonio, from 2007-2017, he was also named the assistant head coach and co-defensive coordinator for Michigan State from 2015-2017.

On3’s Stephen Samra contributed to this report.