Harlon Barnett is back at Michigan State.

The former Spartan standout player and assistant coach was announced Thursday afternoon as the new defensive backs coach on Mel Tucker’s staff. Barnett spent the last two seasons as the defensive coordinator at Florida State but was not retained at the end of the season amid a head coaching change.

“I’ve known Harlon Barnett for more than 20 years,” Tucker said in a university press release. “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.”

.@HarlonBarnett won Big Ten Championships as a player & coach at Michigan State. And now he’s back on the defensive staff in East Lansing! Let’s go!!! pic.twitter.com/HUw5dd3vaM — Michigan State Football (@MSU_Football) February 20, 2020

Speculation about Barnett’s return to East Lansing was obvious given he was out of a job and Tucker had to fill out a staff. Barnett was also spotted at the Michigan State basketball game on Saturday, sitting next to assistant coaches Ron Burton and Mike Tressel. Prior to Tucker being hired, several former Michigan State players voiced support on Twitter for Barnett becoming the next head coach.

Tucker, who spent last season at Colorado, was hired last week to replace Mark Dantonio, who announced his retirement on Feb. 4. His six-year contract includes a pool of $6 million for his 10 on-field assistants.

Barnett is the second assistant hire announced by the program on Thursday. Former Colorado assistant Jay Johnson is following Tucker to East Lansing as the Spartans’ offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, it was announced earlier in the day.

Tucker now has six assistant coaches officially in place. The program announced on Saturday that Tressel and Burton will remain with the team as carryovers from Mark Dantonio’s staff. Burton will coach the defensive line while Tressel, who was the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach last season, doesn’t have an announced role yet. Chris Kapilovic, who spent last season on Tucker’s staff at Colorado, was announced Monday as the Spartans’ new offensive line coach and run game coordinator. Former Spartan standout and Flint Beecher coach and athletic director Courtney Hawkins was announced as the new wide receivers coach on Wednesday night. That was followed by Thursday’s announcements for Johnson and Barnett.

Jay Johnson announced as Michigan State’s new offensive coordinator and QBs coach

Barnett, 53, an Ohio native, was a defensive back with the Spartans from 1986-89 before spending seven seasons in the NFL. He started his coaching career at Princeton High School in Cincinnati for five years before being hired by Nick Saban as a graduate assistant at LSU.

After three seasons as Ohio State’s defensive coordinator, which included winning the national championship in 2002, Dantonio left to take over at Cincinnati for the 2004 season. And he brought Barnett with him as his as secondary coach, despite having barely any experience coaching at the college level.

Dantonio left Cincinnati after three seasons for Michigan State and brought Barnett with him as his secondary coach. When defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi left after the 2014 season to become the head coach at Pittsburgh, Barnett and Tressel were promoted to co-defensive coordinators. That arrangement lasted for three years before Barnett departed after the 2017 season to become the defensive coordinator at Florida State for Willie Taggart. Barnett’s time as an assistant coach with the Spartans included their run from 2013-15 when they posted a combined record of 36-5 with two Big Ten titles and a trip to the College Football Playoff.

Taggert’s run at Florida State was short-lived and Barnett’s defense struggled. After Taggart was fired, Barnett finished the season but is was not retained by new head coach Mike Norvell.

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