New Buffs Assistant Martin Ready To Help Awaken 'Sleeping Giant'
March 20, 2020 | Football, Neill Woelk
Editor's note: This is the second of a series of articles on the new additions to head coach Karl Dorrell's CU coaching staff:
BOULDER — New Colorado assistant coach Demetrice Martin remembers very well his first visit to Boulder.
A standout option quarterback at John Muir High School in Pasadena, Calif., he was being recruited by the Buffaloes in the early 1990s. His hosts on his visit were three players whose names still resonate in a big way with Buffs fans: quarterback Darian Hagan, cornerback Deon Figures and linebacker Chad Brown (also a John Muir grad).
"I go back with Colorado quite awhile," Martin said with a smile recently. "You talk about a rich history — those were glory years."
But instead of choosing to play for the Buffs, Martin ended up at Michigan State, where he lettered from 1992-95.
"I didn't believe I was going to be that premier option quarterback at that stage of my career," he said. "So I went to Michigan State because they gave me the opportunity to play wide receiver (he later switched to cornerback at MSU). But all these years later, it has all come back around and I'm finally a Buff."
Indeed, after a coaching career that has included stops at four Pac-12 schools, Martin is now CU's cornerbacks coach after joining new CU head coach Karl Dorrell's coaching staff in early March.
Martin's most-recent coaching stop was Arizona, where he coached cornerbacks for the last two seasons. Prior to that, he worked at UCLA (six years with DBs, including four as assistant head coach), three years at Washington (secondary) and two at USC (defensive backs grad assistant).
But when the call came from Dorrell, Martin jumped at the opportunity.
"I know the history of Colorado," Martin said. "I know what it was in the glory years and I know what it can be."
And that history and tradition, Martin said, will be a key in recruiting new talent to Boulder. Long regarded as one of the top recruiters on the West Coast, Martin said he won't be shy in letting prospective Buffs know they can be part of something special at CU.
"People who know college football know what Colorado can be," Martin said. "I had a conversation with a recruit recently and I told him, 'I need you to come help us wake up this sleeping giant.' I'm a firm believer that Colorado is definitely a place that's going to explode in a good way when we get the right pieces here — and it's going to happen really fast."
Martin has helped coach some quality secondaries throughout his career, including a 2015 UCLA group that led the Pac-12 in pass defense, allowing the fewest average yards per game and lowest average yards per attempt in the conference. He has also helped tutor some outstanding defensive backs, including 2014 first-team All-Pac-12 corner Ishmael Adams.
Martin has also left his mark everywhere he's been as a quality recruiter with an intimate knowledge of the West Coast.
That was no doubt one of the qualities that attracted Dorrell. When CU's coach announced Martin's hiring, he said, " He has a reputation for being a great recruiter, and has outstanding experience. He's a good communicator and teacher of the fundamentals who is also very concerned with the players' welfare. He is very familiar with the footprint of the Pac-12 Conference with 14 years of coaching and recruiting within it."
Martin's recruiting chops will no doubt be a plus for CU's new staff.
"The fact that I had a little history here and still had the opportunity to be in the Pac-12, it's kind of like it was meant to be," he said. "I know the lay of the land as far as the recruiting scope goes, the type of players we need to level up here."
But with spring ball now on hold and a recruiting "dead period" in place, Martin and the rest of the CU staff are getting plenty of time to watch film of their current players and discuss scheme and philosophy.
Martin has already had a chance to look at CU's current players, and he likes what he's seen from the defense, especially the way it played down the stretch. There will be continuity with defensive coordinator Tyson Summers returning, and Martin has been impressed with what CU has up front — always a plus for a secondary.
"The best pass coverage is always a better pass rush," he said. "I like those bigs up front that we have and hopefully I can add some different tools to the belt so our guys can believe in those tools and techniques."
Martin's philosophy for coaching defensive backs isn't complicated. He's gleaned a number of technique improvement drills from all the different coaches with whom he has worked, but the basics are always the same.
"Don't get beat deep," he said with a laugh. "That's the one rule you can't forget and the one I always stress. I just try to get my guys to do what they do best in our scheme — play smart ball, hard, fast, physical and be able to cover guys. We want them to be able to contribute to special teams as well."
Martin said CU's defensive backs have a good foundation already in place, even though many of them have worked with two different coaching staffs in two years.
"The guys have been coached up," he said. "They have a good base and a good understanding of the scheme. They're all guys that love to ball — that's the first step right there."
Next, when the Buffs are able to get back to the practice field — whenever that might be — his duty will be to take his cornerbacks to the next level. The one thing he has already promised them is that everyone will get a chance to impress.
"Part of the golden carrot of being a new coach is a clean slate," he said. "I've watched film on them, but haven't had a chance to evaluate them really in-depth. But I can tell them this — I don't care what you did last year. I wasn't here. This year, it's the best men who will be playing."
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
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