Demetrice Martin continues to prove he was elite hire for Michigan State football

Jonathan Smith has made some impressive hires on his new Michigan State football staff.

After taking over for Mel Tucker (well, technically Harlon Barnett) last fall, Smith faced the tall task of putting a staff together that could help Michigan State compete in the new Big Ten.

Early on, he brought some guys over with him from Oregon State like Jim Michalczik, Blue Adams, Brian Lindgren, and Brian Wozniak, among others, while he also looked outside of his former staff for an important hire like Joe Rossi as the defensive coordinator.

But one of his best hires -- arguably the best -- came from a rival program in the Pac-12 and it didn't become official under mid-January.

Demetrice Martin.

The new cornerbacks coach was one of Dan Lanning's ace recruiters on the Oregon staff and Smith was able to get him to come back to East Lansing to coach at his alma mater. And his impact has been felt immediately.

Martin helped Michigan State land Ed Woods over Alabama, Jeremiah Hughes from LSU, Nikai Martinez from UCF, Lejond Cavazos from North Carolina, and even defensive lineman Ben Roberts from Oregon. And that's just from the 2024 transfer portal.

In the 2025 class, he's already helped the Spartans land Aydan West and George Mullins. And then on Saturday, he played a critical part in landing four-star cornerback LaRue Zamorano from California.

Michigan State has benefitted massively from the hiring of Martin and it's clear that he's going to be the ace recruiter on the staff for the defensive backfield -- and West Coast recruits.

Coach Meat has been just what this staff needs.