Jason Martin, assistant head coach and defensive coordinator at Independence Community College in Independence, KS., gave some solid insight on his brother Demetrice, who earlier in March was hired by Karl Dorrell as the Buffaloes' new cornerbacks coach.
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Here's what Tucson.com had to say about Martin (in part) when news broke he was leaving Arizona to come to Colorado:"
Martin has a reputation as a strong recruiter, especially in California. He was instrumental in bringing cornerback Christian Roland-Wallace and defensive tackle Kyon Barrs, among others, to Tucson. The 2020 signing class includes a pair of California defenders: lineman Dion Wilson Jr. and cornerback Khary Crump Jr."
The younger Martin seemed to think Demetrice's recruiting process, shown while at Arizona, will be effectively rebranded and brought to Boulder, benefitting the Buffaloes.
"My brother is a secondary coach; he can control the whole secondary, but for him to just have cornerbacks, that’s easy for him," Martin said. "That’s going to enhance his ability to go out and recruit, not just corners, but multiple positions. I expect to go out and make a name for himself again, reinvent himself as a recruiter again.”
The two got a chance to catch up over the phone recently for the first time since Demetrice took the Colorado job.
“It’s been such a fast transition and whirlwind, getting ready for spring ball and learning the playbook," Jason Martin said. "(Defensive coordinator Tyson) Summers has him in meetings all the time and he’s trying to get caught up. The one thing that he says is that he loves the atmosphere (in Boulder) and he’s getting back to the meat and potatoes of football. He loves that he can focus on the corners."
This spring, Martin is set to work with five CU corners: juniors Chris Miller and Mekhi Blackmon and sophomores K.J. Trujillo, Nigel Bethel and Dylan Thomas.Striker is anticipated to move to safety, whereas Tarik Luckett might find his 2020 home with the safeties, as well. Looking ahead to fall camp, four-star CB Christian Gonzalez will join the equation.
But at face value, Martin inherits a pretty young room. Miller and Blackmon's upperclassmen statuses are misleading; both players appeared in only four games as sophomores in 2019 before suffering season-ending injuries.
Thomas saw seven snaps in 2019. Luckett played in five games, seeing 161 snaps while Trujillo wound up being the real hero at CB among the Buffs underclassmen, taking huge strides in his eight games played.
It will be interesting to see how Martin is able to continue to improve his room, given its youth.
“I really believe it's a perfect storm (having a majority of young players)," Jason Martin said. "The reason I say that is because my brother is great at taking a blank canvas and making it something. He’s got guys under him that are young and raw — the great thing about that is that they’re coachable. Having coachable players helps him go in there and teach techniques and focus in on the finer things as far as cornerbacks being in a position to excel in the Pac-12.”
The way Martin likes to coach, having a younger room might very well turn out to be a blessing for him as he looks to get to work with Colorado's corners in 2020.
"He's a family guy," Jason Martin said. "He really believes in having a family atmosphere within his room. He’s (also) a technician — he’s really great with teaching technique within whatever scheme it is. He’s able to adapt and teach a technique, getting players to play at a high level. That may sound cliche, but he really does it. He has a way with interacting with players to make them understand at a high level, and also love him at the same time."
"It’s one thing to hear a coach tell you something, and then you go do it, but when he tells you, you want to do it for him, to make him proud. He has that effect and that kind of relationship with his players."
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