Tag: Michigan State coaching staff

Michigan State football hires away LSU football staffer

MSU has added an LSU staffer to its recruiting staff

Mel Tucker has made it known that the Michigan State football program under his direction was going to be centered around recruiting at the highest level possible. A part of having a program that recruits at a high level, that program needs a strong support staff to help position coaches out. Mel Tucker enhanced MSU’s recruiting support staff immensely, hiring away Anthony Clavo from LSU.

Clavo was a part of the LSU football program for the team’s national championship season, along with helping in scouting and reporting before and after the championship, and many know that LSU recruits at the highest level in college football.

Clavo will be an offensive recruiting assistant at Michigan State.

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Report: Michigan State football tabs Marco Coleman as new DL coach

It appears that MSU has its new defensive line coach and it is a longtime NFL veteran

Michigan State and former MSU defensive line coach Ron Burton mutually agreed to part ways earlier this offseason, leaving a vacancy on the Michigan State coaching staff. That vacancy has reportedly been filled by Marco Coleman, who will take over as the Spartans new defensive line coach.

Coleman is a native of Dayton, Ohio, and played his college football at Georgia Tech. After a successful college career, Coleman would get drafted in the first round of the NFL Draft before going on to have a successful 14-year career in the league. His NFL career totaled him 520 tackles, 65.5 sacks and 18 forced fumbles.

Following his playing career, Coleman has taken up a strong interest in coaching and has built up a solid resume to bring to East Lansing with him. In 2018, Coleman served as the assistant defensive line coach with the Oakland Raiders. After that, Coleman would go home to his alma mater and spent the past 3 seasons at Georgia Tech as the outside linebackers and defensive ends coach.

Mel Tucker made the move to pry Coleman away from his alma mater and come to East Lansing as their new DL coach.

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Michigan State football losses staffer to Miami

MSU has lost a member of its support staff to Miami

Michigan State football has another opening to fill within the program, this time in one of their support staff positions. Recruiting assistant Andrew Rogers will be heading to the University of Miami to work under new head coach Mario Cristobal as their new assistant of player personnel.

Rogers was a part of the team that would diagnose players in the transfer portal for the Spartans to target.

A graduate of Indiana University, Rogers has been on Mel Tucker’s supports staff for all three years of Tucker’s years as a head coach. One in Colorado and two in East Lansing.

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Michigan State football loses assistant coach to Georgia Southern

An MSU assistant is heading to Georgia Southern

Michigan State has lost one of its offensive analysts to Georgia Southern as Effrem Reed is headed to the Eagles as their new running backs coach.

Reed has been at MSU since the Mel Tucker tenure began, working as an assistant runnings back coach under William Peagler.

A sign of a good program and good coaching staff is when lower assistants are being poached and given promotions. Reed has done a good job in East Lansing thus far, so it makes sense for him to have been sought after.

Michigan State will look to fill this role soon.

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Michigan State reportedly hires Ross Els as special teams coordinator

Els would be the eight assistant coach on Mel Tucker’s staff.

More reinforcements for Mel Tucker’s first coaching staff are on their way from Boulder, Colorado.

According to Colorado bear reporter Brian Howell, Colorado linebackers coach and special teams coordinator Ross Els will be going the Michigan State staff.

As Howell alludes to their are still roles to be sorted out among the defense–most notably with former MSU defensive coordinator Mike Tressel whose role has yet to be publicly announced–but Els looks to be headed for the special teams coordinator role.

Els was the special teams coordinator under Tucker in 2019 and Colorado improved form 89th in special teams SP+ in 2018 to 43rd in 2019. Els was also ran special teams for Nebraska from 2012-2014 and those years the Cornhuskers finished 32nd, 8th, and 51st in special teams SP+.

Els has also coached special teams at New Mexico and Ohio University, in addition to being the defensive coordinator at Purdue in 2016.

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Former Michigan State linebacker Darien Harris returns to MSU as part of Mel Tucker’s support staff

Harris was a four-year player for Michigan State and co-captain of the 2015 College Football Playoff team.

An all-time Spartan Dawg is back to work in East Lansing.

In addition to the hiring of tight ends coach Ted Gilmore, Michigan State and Mel Tucker also announced the hiring of a few support staff members on Friday. Among them was new Director of Player Engagement Darien Harris.

Harris played linebacker for Michigan State from 2012-2015 and was a captain on the 2015 team that won the Big Ten and made the school’s only appearance in the College Football Playoff.

“Darien Harris is an outstanding role model for our current players,” said Tucker in a release from the school. “He was a captain on the Big Ten Championship and College Football Playoff team in 2015 and has demonstrated incredible leadership and mentoring skills. He’s a very good communicator and will be able to connect with our team. He recently completed his master’s degree and is ready to mentor our players during their time here on campus.”

Harris collected 154 tackles, including 13 for losses (28 yards), in 54 career games with 25 starts; the 54 career games played is tied for the most of any Spartan player in Michigan State history.

Following his Spartan career, Harris spent time in the Canadian Football League with Ottawa and served as an analyst for the Big Ten Network while finishing his master’s degree at MSU. He has also been an assistant coach at Walled Lake Western High School in Michigan.

Michigan State also made official the hiring of Geoff Martzen as Director of Player Personnel and Cody Cox as Director of Football Operations. Martzen served in that same role under Tucker in Colorado and Cox is entering his fourth year in administrations for Michigan State football. He was the Director of Executive Football Operations in 2019 and the Assistant Director of Football Operations and Camp Coordinator from 2017-18.

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Harlon Barnett returns to Michigan State as Mel Tucker’s defensive backs coach

Barnett returns to MSU after a two-year stint as defensive coordinator at Florida State

What seemed like a logical return to Michigan State has become official for Harlon Barnett.

The school has announced that former Michigan State defensive backs coach and co-defensive coordinator Harlon Barnett has been hired by Mel Tucker as his defensive backs coach.

Barnett coached the defensive backs his entire 11 years under Mark Dantonio at MSU, and was promoted to assistant head coach and co-defensive coordinator prior to the 2015 Cotton Bowl. He was named associate head coach in 2017.

“I’ve known Harlon Barnett for more than 20 years,” said Mel Tucker in a release from the school. “He’s a fantastic coach and recruiter, and really connects with his players. He’s a man of character and family is very important to him. He’s a true Spartan and we’re happy to have him back here in East Lansing.”

Barnett left Michigan State after the 2017 season to take the defensive coordinator position under Willie Taggart at Florida State. Barnett was not retained after Taggart was fired during the 2019 season.

Barnett has coached nine Spartan defensive backs that were selected in the NFL Draft, including two first-rounders (Darqueze Dennard, No. 24, Cincinnati Bengals, 2014; Trae Waynes, No. 11, Minnesota Vikings, 2015). Dennard won the Thorpe award as the nation’s top defensive back at the conclusion of the 2013 season.

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