Tag: Cole Martin

Oregon cornerbacks coach Demetrice Martin to take job at Michigan State

Oregon Ducks’ cornerbacks coach Demetrice Martin is expected to leave Eugene and join the coaching staff at Michigan State.

One of the most prominent coaches on the Oregon Ducks defensive staff is making a big move, reportedly leaving Eugene to join Jonathan Smith’s coaching staff in East Lansing with the Michigan State Spartans.

Ducks Wire has confirmed a report of the move, which initially came from Fifth Quarter’s Mike Black.

Coach Martin was one of the first hires that Dan Lanning made back at the end of 2021 when he came to Eugene, and he has been one of the best recruiters and coaches on the team, routinely landing top-rated players out of both the transfer portal and from the high school ranks.

Before coming to Oregon, Martin spent time with the Colorado Buffaloes, Arizona Wildcats, UCLA Bruins, Washington Huskies, and USC Trojans. He will now join Smith, who took the head job at Michigan State after leaving the Oregon State Beavers at the end of last season.

The move for Martin allows a couple of dots to be connected in Eugene, where stand-out freshman CB Cole Martin — the son of Demetrice Martin — announced earlier this offseason that he would be entering the transfer portal. He ended up transferring closer to home, joining former Oregon offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham at Arizona State.

Going forward, it will be interesting to see who the Ducks look at as the next cornerbacks coach, but fans can feel confident that head coach Dan Lanning will not have been caught off guard by this news, and should have a plan in place.

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Former Oregon DB Cole Martin to transfer to Arizona State

Oregon Ducks freshman defensive back Cole Martin has announced that he will transfer to the Arizona State Sun Devils.

Sometimes, being closer to home is important.

So while former Oregon Ducks defensive back Cole Martin might have had a slice of home up in Eugene with his father, cornerback coach Demetrice Martin, helping in his development, the idea of playing in his home state ended up winning out, with Martin announcing on Friday that he would be transferring to the Arizona State Sun Devils.

Martin’s entry into the transfer portal a couple of days ago came as a surprise to many Oregon fans, with a projection that he would be among the top defensive players on the team next year with a clear chance to grab one of the starting safety spots in the secondary. However, he now ends up in Tempe with former Oregon offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham as his new head coach.

Martin played 157 snaps as a true freshman, which was among the most by players in his class. He had 17 total tackles and one interception in that time. Martin was a member of the 2023 recruiting class, and was a blue-chip piece on the defense.

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Oregon freshman defensive back enters the transfer portal

This move caught everyone off guard.

The college football transfer portal is still spinning, especially with all but one game out of the way this season.

One big surprise recently was Oregon freshman defensive back Cole Martin, per Zachary Neel of Ducks Wire.

“On Tuesday afternoon, true freshman Cole Martin announced that he would enter the transfer portal after this year and look for a new school. Martin is the son of Oregon cornerbacks coach Demetrice Martin, and was viewed as a major piece of the Ducks’ future in the secondary.”

That comes across as a very surprising move, given the details attached to Martin’s background.

It has been a busy few days for the Pac-12 teams, with Washington heading for the national title game and USC Trojan wide receiver Dorian Singer entering the portal.

Seeing the son of an Oregon assistant coach leave the program is not what anyone expected, but that is what happens in the portal. Now Martin will look for another opportunity somewhere else.

Visit our friends at Fighting Irish Wire, Buffaloes Wire, and Ducks Wire.

Freshman DB Cole Martin to enter transfer portal

Oregon Ducks freshman DB Cole Martin announced on Tuesday that he would enter the transfer portal and leave Eugene.

One of the most promising young players on the Oregon Ducks roster is heading to the transfer portal and leaving Eugene.

On Tuesday afternoon, true freshman Cole Martin announced that he would enter the transfer portal after this year and look for a new school. Martin is the son of Oregon cornerbacks coach Demetrice Martin, and was viewed as a major piece of the Ducks’ future in the secondary.

Martin played 157 snaps as a true freshman, which was among the most by players in his class. He had 17 total tackles and one interception in that time. Martin was a member of the 2023 recruiting class, and was a blue-chip piece on the defense.

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SIGNED: 4-star safety Aaron Flowers is officially a Duck

Aaron Flowers, a 4-star safety recruit, inked his national letter of intent for Oregon on Wednesday.

Aaron Flowers, a 4-star safety in the class of 2024, has signed his national letter of intent, officially making him an Oregon Duck. Flowers has been committed to Oregon since last spring, and he is the highest-rated safety recruit for the Ducks, a position where Oregon lacks depth.

Flowers is ranked as the No. 9 safety and the No. 110 overall player in the class of 2024, and it’s easy to see why. With his elite speed at the safety position, Flowers can cover a lot of ground in pass coverage, but he is also physical enough to be a force in the run game.

Despite his age, Flowers could see some playing time in 2024. Safety wasn’t the strongest position for Oregon in 2023, and they are losing Evan Williams and Steve Stephens IV this offseason. Tysheem Johnson is the only returning safety who played a high volume of snaps in 2023, which means there is a hole Flowers could potentially fill.

Currently, Oregon is pursuing Kansas State transfer Kobe Savage to fill the hole at safety, and freshman Cole Martin is expected to receive a starting role in 2024. Still, Flowers possesses enough talent to make playing a consistent amount in his freshman year a possibility, which would benefit his development. I expect Flowers to fill the role Martin had in 2023, playing in most games, but not the key snaps.

Here are some highlights of Flowers:

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Stock Report: Patrick Herbert thrives, Cole Martin shines, and Ty Thompson drops a dime

The Oregon Ducks had only stock risers on Saturday in their 49-13 win over Arizona State on Saturday.

One of the things Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning has stressed all season is the need for his team to play a complete game. The game against the Utah Utes is the only one Lanning has classified as a complete game, where the Ducks didn’t let up in their dominance for a second.

I think you could argue that Oregon was incredibly close to getting that done on Saturday in a 49-13 win over Arizona State. With six touchdowns on six drives in the first half, all of which were TD passes for Bo Nix, the Ducks were as dominant as we’ve seen this year, winning in every facet of the game. They gave up some scores in the second half when starters were pulled from the game, but it’s easy to see how good the Ducks can be when they play to their ceiling.

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It was hard to find much for Oregon to improve on this week when looking at our stock report. We usually try to find some things that could be better for Dan Lanning’s team after a game, but in Week 12, it was nothing but stocks on the rise in Eugene. Here’s our weekly stock report.

‘He knows what’s required;’ Oregon freshman DB Cole Martin stands out to Dan Lanning

“I think what makes it special is he’s the guy who’s gonna be up here at 6 a.m., you know, getting an ice bath, doing the extra.”

We have talked about true freshman defensive back Cole Martin quite a bit this spring, but with all due respect, that was mostly because of his relationship with his father, Oregon Ducks cornerbacks coach Demetrice Martin.

Players had told us stories of them being a mirror image of each other in the locker room, and Coach Meat informed us that coaching his son was easier than he thought it would be, with the other defensive coaches — Dan Lanning, Tosh Lupoi, Chris Hampton, etc. — coaching him up before he could get to Cole.

“I just wait till we get home at night,” Coach Meat said.

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Now when we talk about Cole Martin, it’s because of the potential that he’s shown, and the standout performance that he had at Oregon’s spring game last weekend.

The true freshman popped off the screen for anyone watching and was clearly one of the most high-energy players on the field. Whether it was meeting the ball carrier in the open field with force, making a great break on an out-breaking route near the sideline to register a pass break-up, or running a punt back for 29 yards — the long of the day — there were things that Martin did throughout the scrimmage that made him jump off the tape.

After the game, we labeled Martin as one of the players who saw their stock rise the most, questioning whether or not he could be a solid rotation player for the Oregon defense this fall in his first season.

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Talking to head coach Dan Lanning after the game, it came as no surprise to the staff or the players on the roster that Cole rose to the occasion.

“Cole’s a good player you know, I think he’s exactly what we thought he was gonna be,” Lanning said. “He had a great spring practice. He’s super competitive.”

When you get to the collegiate level, everyone is talented. However, it’s the players who work the hardest, and take the best care of their bodies who end up finding the most success when all is said and done, using what they learned in the film room to build on the talent that they possess.

Martin grew up as a coach’s kid and obviously has seen Coach Meat teach some of the best players in the game over the years. It’s obvious that he knows how to succeed off the field in order to shine on it.

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“You know, I think what makes it special is he’s the guy who’s gonna be up here at 6 a.m., you know, getting an ice bath, doing the extra,” Lanning said. “He knows what’s required. Obviously, he’s a coach’s kid. So he does a little bit extra from that standpoint. He got some highlights today, but I’m sure there’s stuff that he wants to improve on.”

Based on what we saw at the spring game, the level of expectations have been set for Cole. There’s a belief now that he can have an impact on Oregon’s defense as a freshman, and build from there.

If he continues to put the work in off of the field and grow as a player as we’ve been told he does, it’s going to be fun to watch how good he can eventually be in Eugene.

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Stock Report: Which players proved the most at Oregon spring game?

Who impressed us the most at Oregon’s spring game? It’s a long list, filled with a lot of young players and new faces.

The Oregon Ducks’ annual spring game came and went this past weekend, and there are a million things to decipher from what we saw.

We’ve already given you our biggest takeaways, and an overall report card for each position group. I also told you my thoughts on QB Ty Thompson, and how after a rough start to the game, I was incredibly impressed at how he turned things around and had a nice outing.

We’ve got attendance numbers, a photo gallery, Twitter reactions, and a look back on how all of the recruits in town enjoyed the experience. One of the last things on the list of things to do in order to properly wrap up this spring scrimmage is to look at the stock report.

Throughout the regular season, the stock report is something we do after each week of the season, determining which players on the roster did the most to help or hurt their metaphorical stock price. Some call it winners or losers, but we put a different spin on it. Of course, it feels a bit strange to say anyone in the spring scrimmage saw their stock go down since it was a glorified practice with split up teams and may not be a perfect indication of what we see this coming season.

For example, neither RB Bucky Irving nor Noah Whittington put up impressive stats on Saturday, but that doesn’t mean either of them saw their stock go down. Rather, it shows that in the spring game, the coaching staff was more interested in getting reps for young guys.

With all of that being said, let’s get into it. Here are the players who impressed the most and saw their stock rise on Saturday:

Report Card: Defense looks improved while offense showed flashes at spring game

The defense passed with flying colors, while the offense showed some flashes on Saturday.

The Spring Game brought some interesting things to the forefront. Hopefully, for the Ducks’ sake, the high points will stick around for the season, while the handful of low points will be ironed out in the coming months.

We can start with the quarterback situation. Bo Nix is obviously the top guy on the depth chart, and he played well on Saturday, though the game didn’t call for many heroics from No. 10. Ty Thompson struggled mightily at the start of the game, but he eventually settled in and had a great second half that should give fans some confidence going forward. 

There were several highlights with some receivers, though. When they got the chance, Troy Franklin, Traeshon Holden, Kris Hutson, and Tez Johnson all made big plays and showed off their unique talents.

But Oregon fans should get used to what the Ducks showed them on Saturday as long as Dan Lanning is in Eugene. They saw a dominating defensive attack that snuffed out a good offense and very talented players on that side of the ball.

Here’s our official report card for the 2023 Spring Game.

‘He’s a spitting image of Coach Meat;’ Cole Martin is part of the family at Oregon

“It’s funny at times when they butt heads because it’s like ‘okay this the same person talking to himself.’”

The idea of a coach’s son in the world of sports growing up was not uncommon in the slightest. Quite often, the head coach of a team would typically have one of their kids on the roster, moving through the different levels of youth sports as their kid grows up. Typically, there may tend to be a hint of nepotism involved, with the coach’s kid often playing quarterback, pitcher, or point guard.

When you get to the college level, though, the idea of a coach’s kid becomes far rarer. Almost never do you hear about the coach of a team having his son on the roster. This year in Eugene, we’ve been treated to those dynamics playing out with the Oregon Ducks between cornerbacks coach Demetrice Martin and his son, defensive back Cole Martin.

Coach ‘Meat’ has been in Eugene for two years now, coming as one of the key members of Dan Lanning’s first coaching staff with the Ducks. Cole is an incoming freshman, rated as a 4-star prospect in the 2023 class.

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Obviously, Oregon players are particularly familiar with the eldest Martin in the program. But getting to know his son has been a treat, and often a source of entertainment in the meeting room.

“It’s actually crazy because like, young Cole is a spitting image of Coach Meat,” cornerback Dontae Manning said on Saturday. “Like the aggression, the anger, the hype-ness. And it’s crazy like it’s literally his twin in a meeting room.”

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The dynamics of having a position coach in charge of molding his son at a major D1, Power 5 program like Oregon are complicated. Does Coach Meat take it easy on Cole, making sure that he understands the process and goes through everything mentally at his own pace? Does the coach go harder on his son than other players, taking an extra step to push him a bit further because he wants him to be better than the rest?

It’s a hard tightrope to walk, but one that Coach Demetrice is traversing well so far.

“It’s been a good experience, a lot easier than I thought it would be,” Coach Meat said. “Because of Coach Lanning, you got Coach Tosh (Lupoi), you got Coach (Chris) Hampton; those guys are on his butt for everything so they get to him before I get to him. I just wait till we get home at night.”

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When he does get the chance to coach up his son, though, is the approach different? Does he have to be mindful of the parenting of history and potential dynamics at play?

“No, he’s a tough kid,” Coach Martin said. “He’s been around me all his life. So he understands how I get down and how I coach and how I teach. So he knows when to say ‘when.’”

That doesn’t always mean it’s smooth sailing, of course. With any coach and player, there are bound to be arguments, and a little bit of tough love; that’s just how coaching works. If a player does something wrong, or misses an assignment, the coach is going to have to do what they can in order to make sure that the player corrects that mistake going forward.

But when you have a coach and a player who are so similar, and look a like, and live life with mannerisms that mirror each other, it can get a bit comical from an outside perspective.

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“I mean it’s funny at times when they butt heads because it’s like ‘okay this the same person talking to himself.’ Like it’s crazy,” Manning said. “But yeah, it’s crazy in that meeting room, I love it though.”

Anyone who has gotten a chance to know Coach Meat over the years has nothing but great things to say. I was personally able to talk to Cole Martin extensively a year ago after his commitment to Oregon and was blown away at how mature he came across for a teenager.

Maybe it’s due to good genes. Maybe it’s due to good coaching.

Regardless of the reasoning, there’s an extra dose of Martin in the Oregon locker room this year, and hopefully for many years to come. I can’t imagine a world where the Ducks are not better for it.

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