EXCLUSIVE: Elite MSU Football CB Target Highlights Great News, Spartans Coach
The Michigan State Spartans have an excellent staff under Coach Jonathan Smith. Player recruitment and development are sure to be at the forefront under Smith. His coaches has been nothing less than prolific, given the short amount of time they have had with the 2025 class.
Perhaps one of the coaches that has stood out the most is cornerbacks coach Demetrice Martin. Martin was to make the biggest waves out of the Spartans' staff this recruiting cycle. First, Martin completed a complete comeback victory in landing three-star cornerback Aydan West.
West was offered within the first week of June and he wanted to announce his decision by June 25. Martin had very little time to work with and there were plenty of teams seemingly ahead of the Spartans in the race for West. Martin and the Spartans, of course, finished first when it was time for West to decide.
In July, Martin landed what might be the Spartans' biggest prospect in the class in high three-star cornerback LaRue Zamorano III out of Corona, California. Zamorano is a big, physical, athletic cornerback at 6-foot-2, and a prototypical Martin target. Zamorano has the ability to play Day 1 as a freshman.
Now, Martin is looking ahead to the 2026 class and four-star IMG Academy cornerback Ksani Jiles. Jiles is the No. 24-ranked corner in the class, per 247Sports Composite rankings and he was originally an early commit to Miami in 2023. In February, the 6-foot, 175-pound cornerback decommitted.
Time for Martin to shine?
"I got offered during the spring when Coach [Martin] got the job," Jiles told me. "Me and Coach Martin always had a close relationship. My trainer is close with him, Mike Evans, so you know [Martin] was his coach when he was younger so that relationship started there. And when I went down to Oregon, I talked to him a few times and once he got to Michigan State I was one of the first 26 defensive backs he offered so, that made us even more closer."
The date of June 15, which signaled the direct contact period for 2026 recruits, only made the connection stronger. Now, the Spartans are among Jiles' favorites.
"He would talk to me constantly, like every single day," Jiles said. "[The Spartans] are definitely one of the leaders in my recruitment for sure. He just been using everything to his advantage -- talking to me, FaceTiming me, almost every day."
Michael France is Sports Illustrated's Michigan State recruiting beat writer, covering all things Big Ten recruiting for Spartan Nation. Be sure to follow him on Twitter/X@michaelfrancesi for exclusive Spartans recruiting coverage.
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MICHAEL FRANCE