Basic HTML Version
90
SEPTEMBER
OCTOBER 201 3
Stadium, he says, he was paying
more attention to the crowd than
the play. He learned quickly, how-
ever, and played in four games as a
freshman. In 1998, Martin and his
teammates finished a 13-0 season as
SEC and NCAA National Champions
under the leadership of Coach Phillip
Fulmer. Overall, Martin played in 39
games as a Volunteer, catching 46
passes for 543 yards. He scored five
touchdowns.
TheBig
Leagues
In 2001, Martin was drafted in the
sixth round by the Green Packers.
’ÄúIt really was funny, because when
I entered the draft, I didn’Äôt think I
would play. I didn’Äôt have the stats to
play.’Äù He entered the draft without a
lot of expectations, knowing it was
likely that he wouldn’Äôt be chosen’Äî
but then he was.
Martin’Äôs first year at Green Bay
was a challenge. Though he had
played as a wide receiver all through
high school and college, the Pack-
ers drafted him as a tight end.’ÄúI
didn’Äôt know if this was going pan
out,’Äù he says. In his first training
camp, he made the adjustment from
blocking defensive backs to blocking
300-pound defensive ends.’ÄúIt was
really hard,’Äù admits Martin. But, as
the 2001 season began, Martin was
the only one of the Packers’Äô six draft
picks dressed to play’Äîand play he
did. Over the next six years Martin
caught 87 passes for 766 yards and
nine touchdowns.
’ÄúI really enjoyed my time in
Green Bay,’Äù says Martin, despite his
initial fear about the cold and harsh
weather inWisconsin. He quickly
learned howmuch the cold, which
he and his teammates were used
to, served as an advantage against
teams fromwarmer climes.’ÄúIt was
cold, for sure, but once the game
started, you were competing, and I
just never really noticed it,’Äù he says.
’ÄúI never wore sleeves much’Äîbut
the other guys from the other teams
were all bundled up, and we would
just laugh at them.’Äù
During Martin’Äôs six years with the
Packers, Martinmarried his college
sweetheart, UT track and field star
runner Kameisha Bennett, inMarch
2006. The couple has two sons,
Darius (9), and Devyn (5). When the
Martins first married, Bennett was
still running track. In addition to
running at the University of Ten-
nessee, she was a 2005 USA Outdoor
silver medalist and came in fourth
place at the Olympic Trials in 2004.
After their first son was born, Ben-
nett ran only inMartin’Äôs off-seasons
so that one of them could be with
the kids, particularly Darius, who is
autistic. Their home base was always
Knoxville, where they had bought a
condo in 2005, but the Martins did
considerable travel for their respec-
tive sports. The hardest part, says
Martin, was when the family had
to be separated while Bennett took
Devyn or both sons to Knoxville with
her to train while Martin remained
with his team. Eventually, after fail-
ing to gain a place on the Olympic
team in the 2008 trials, Bennett gave
up her running to stay with the boys
full time.
After his stint with the Packers,
the Martin family moved south to
Miami, where Martin played for
three years with the Dolphins.’ÄúI
had, I think, the best year of my
career in 2008,’Äù says Martin. He
caught 31 passes, gained 450 yards,
and scored three touchdowns that
season. When the season was over,
however, he had several knee surger-
ies. His last two years in the NFL
Switching from a wide receiver to a
tight end was challenging for Martin,
but after his first training camp, he was
the first Green Bay rookie on the field.
Martin’Äôs decision to
commit to the Volunteers
was cemented when he
saw PeytonManning play
against Alabama during his
senior year of high school.
Photo courtesy of
JimBiever / Green Bay Packers
Photo courtesy of
TennesseeAthletics / UTSports.com