Michigan State Alum, Demetrice Martin: Father-son Dynamic
“A little helpful piece of information, ‘on the banks of the Red Cedar, there’s a school that’s known to all. Its specialty is winning, and those Spartans play good ball. Spartan Teams are never beaten,all through the game they’ll fight. Fight for the only colors, green and white’” Demetrice Martin, former Spartan cornerback, said.
Back in his time in East Lansing, singing the Michigan State Fight Song, Demetrice is now an assistant coach for the Colorado Buffaloes. While his days as a Spartan are done, his son, Cole Martin received an offer from Michigan State as a 2023 recruit.
Being a sophomore in high school and receiving offers at the age of 16, Cole said, “It’s special, it’s all blessings. I feel like all of the work I’ve been doing over the years that my dad’s been making me do, it’s all paying off.”
Having a father as a coach, and as a former Big Ten football player, can lead to more discipline, extra workouts, and insightful advice off the field.
Demetrice said, “We have a great friendship, as a father-son relationship, let alone, a coach-player relationship. We’ve afforded the ability to have all three of those types of relationships as he gets older.”
Cole and Demetrice’s relationship goes beyond football.
“Tell her about how I kick your butt in the video games,” Demetrice said.
“He can’t beat me in any video games. He’ll come home; we’ll start the game up. It’s no chance. I’m undefeated right now against him,” Cole said.
“He has all the cheat codes,” Demetrice said.
Reflecting on his years, Demetrice said, “It’s a prideful sense like, ‘hey he’s doing it, and he’s almost doing it to as close to a level that I was at.’ I’m never going to say he’s doing better than me, but he’s close.”
The question is whether Cole will follow in his father's footsteps, by either committing to Michigan State, Demetrice’s Alma mater, or play for his dad in Colorado.
Cole said, “when the time comes, it’ll be a decision that will happen over time to make that decision. I would love to play for my dad, and I would love to go play for the school he played for, and I would love to go play for other schools that will show me interest. When the time comes, I know it will be the right decision, it’s going to be the best for me and my family, it’s going to be a decision where I’m going to make sure it fits everything.”
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