Tom Izzo shifts roles for Michigan State assistants Mike Garland, Mark Montgomery

East Lansing — After making some changes to its coaching staff over the offseason, Michigan State coach Tom Izzo announced Monday some additional shifting with his assistants.

Mike Garland, a longtime assistant under Izzo, will transition to special assistant to the head coach, while Mark Montgomery will go from recruiting coordinator to one of the Spartans’ three full-time assistant coaches.

According to Izzo, Garland’s role will be focused more on developing student-athletes on an individual level while still working to break down film and helping with daily operations in the program with some on-campus recruiting included. It’s a role that will allow more flexibility for Garland, taking recruiting off his plate, as he will now be able to spend more time with his family, including his son who had heart surgery earlier this year.

Garland, a teammate of Izzo’s at Northern Michigan, has been at Michigan State for 22 seasons, first as an assistant from 1996-2003 before returning in 2007 after serving as the head coach at Cleveland State.

This is Montgomery’s second stint with Michigan State. The former guard under Jud Heathcote spent 10 seasons as an assistant under Izzo from 2001-11 before spending the next 10 seasons as the head coach at Northern Illinois.

The shifts to the staff began when associated head coach Dane Fife left to take the same position at Indiana, his alma mater.

mcharboneau@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @mattcharboneau