Our Honor Defend

In this 16th installment of the Better Know A Buckeye feature that we have been running on this site since February¹, I finish up with the last unheralded recruit left on the board. Indeed, Jermil Martin, fullback prospect from Glenville HS in Cleveland, is so unheralded that almost nothing was written about him by any recruiting service during the duration of his recruitment. This dearth of information complicates the picture on who offered Jermil and when and does not necessarily paint an adequate picture of why he chose Iowa in December. To compensate, I’ll pay greater attention to the Buckeyes’ interest in him in January and his eventual commitment. Afterwards, I follow with a discussion on how Jermil Martin is sure to be the least likely prospect in the 2008 class to redshirt his first year.

Height: 5′11
Weight: 220lbs
Forty: 4.55
GPA: 3.8

His Recruitment: Jermil Martin is arguably the most ‘under the radar’ recruit in the 2008 class. Indeed, a Google search for his name and the lack of useful information it returns highlights just that. Further, it’s not like fullbacks are a real topic of interest by recruiting services as college fullbacks tend to be players who don’t project well at either linebacker, tailback or defensive end, thus don’t accumulate “stars” and thus don’t get a lot of press. Of importance, though, is the absence of Ohio State from the picture through basically all of 2007. Jermil had expressed great interest in the Buckeyes and as late as December 2007, the Buckeyes were picking up interest in Jermil. However, no offer materialized during this time.

Iowa, on the other hand, was very interested in Jermil. The Hawkeyes have plucked players from Glenville before, such as Bruce Davis and City Boyz, Inc associate Arvell Nelson and were interested in raiding the Buckeye pipeline for more talent². Further, the Hawkeyes were the first to extend an offer to Jermil, followed by Wisconsin and WVU. This prompted an early December official visit to Iowa City, where he met with Kirk Ferentz and some old Tarblooder teammates of his in Iowa City.

The aforementioned factors led to a December 5 commitment to Iowa. Martin liked a variety of things on his visit to Iowa City, but felt that the opportunity to play with former teammates and good friends of his (such as Arvell Nelson, whose little brother and Jermil know each other quite well in Cleveland) was too good an opportunity to pass up. The commitment was the second of the day for the Hawkeyes and was secured by Ferentz after an in-home visit with Jermil Martin in Cleveland. Martin projected at either a defensive lineman or a linebacker for Kirk Ferentz, but nevertheless would start his career at Iowa on defense.

However, not long after his commitment, Ohio State entered the picture in earnest. As early as December 11, Jermil had an official visit to Ohio State planned for sometime around January 11. Three factors account for the mutual interest in late December-early January. On Ohio State’s end, the fullback position was clearly one of need for the Buckeyes. They graduated 3 fullbacks in the class of 2008 and Aram Olson, fullback par excellence out of high school, had lingering injury concerns from a foot injury his freshman year that compromised his career. Basically: after 2008, there would be no fullbacks left at the school of Pete Johnson. Further complicating the issue for the Buckeyes was the ongoing dilemma regarding DeVoe Torrence. DeVoe Torrence committed under the promise of the coaching staff to not pursue another tailback. However, the rumours surrounding Torrence’s legal issues began swirling, which ultimately led to the coaching staff’s decision to withdraw Torence’s scholarship. With all things considered, Jermil Martin was now in the mix for the coaching staff for possible offer. On Jermil’s end, the Buckeyes were always his dream school, as Jermil — like most Tarblooders and good Ohio kids — aspired to be at Ohio State. He had been on unofficial visits for several games during the 2007 season and watched a few as well in 2006. Further, he began to wonder if he committed too early to Iowa and if a Buckeye offer would have been there for him if he had just waited.

Jermil eventually made the trip down to Columbus on Friday, January 11 2008, telling Bucknuts the day before the drive that, while still committed to Iowa, he would more than likely secure his spot in the 2008 class if the Buckeyes offered.

His Commitment: On Sunday, January 13, Jermil Martin became the 16th commitment in the recruiting class and the first of two commitments in that particular day. The news of Zach Domicone’s commitment followed him later in the afternoon. With the commitment, the Buckeyes got their lone tailback of any kind in the 2008 class³ and another Tarblooder in the class. Tarblooders are always welcome at Ohio State.

Jermil expressed that the reason for the switch from Iowa to Ohio State is rather straightforward. He aspired to play for the Buckeyes and that The Ohio State University is his dream school. He feels he committed to Iowa a little too hastily and that he in all likelihood would never have committed to them if he had either been more patient with Ohio State or was given greater consideration earlier. With the official visit to Ohio State surpassing all expectations he had (both in terms of positive vibe around the program and facilities), Martin made the switch.

Where He Excels: The first rule of playing fullback is to be fearless, and Martin more than meets that requirement. Further, by actually expressing the desire for fullback as a positional preference, Jermil appears to be ready and able to do all the dirty work necessary for the position. Motivation definitely does not appear to be an issue here. I’m not expecting Jermil to be anything other than lead blocker in a rush offense, but with that said, he’s a little more athletic than most fullbacks. If nothing else, it at least allows me to conjure recollections of all the games I’ve seen involving Nicky Sualua. Of course, I hope he doesn’t flame out as badly personally. The name Jamar Martin has also appeared as a point of reference, but I’m convinced that’s because of the similarity of both of their names.

Must Work On: This guy is one of the most likely candidates to play as a freshman. While I can’t speak directly to the issue of focus and preparation, it’s safe to say he will need to be ready for 2008. With Todd Boeckman firmly at the helm at QB, the Buckeyes look to feature the I-formation for 2008. However, with basically no established fullback on the roster for 2008, the position promises to go through some experimentation in which Jermil should feature prominently. Buckeye fans have had their curiosities piqued with the discussion of a “pony back” formation that the Buckeyes saw a little bit of in New Orleans. Jermil Martin, though, is definitely in the mix at the position. With so much riding on 2008, Jermil might need to push himself to avoid any lapses in judgment or concentration.

Redshirt? I’ve hinted at this elsewhere, but I guess it should be safe to say that Jermil Martin might be the least likely candidate for a redshirt if only for the issue of depth at the position. No one expects incoming freshmen like Stoneburner, Brewster, Shugarts and Pryor to redshirt, but there will be competition ahead of them. However, there is no competition for Jermil Martin, ceteris paribus⁴. Adam Homan, a class of 2009 prospect, committed in late December 2007 to provide some future depth at the position⁵, indicating that the Buckeyes still thought Aram Olson could handle fullback duties in 2008. However, it seems apparent now that injuries have forced Aram Olson into an early retirement from football. The Buckeyes apparently picked up on the warning signs around the time Martin was receiving new interest from the Buckeyes. Ergo, Jermil Martin is the only designated fullback on the roster for 2008 and most likely will not redshirt. Experimentation with both personnel and formation doesn’t guarantee Jermil will start, but Jermil is likely to be in the discussion for legit playing time on offense.

Highlights: Scouting Ohio is an incredible resource has some film of Jermil Martin. Pay careful attention to his play as a tailback for the Tarblooders, as you’ll see his smashmouth style featured prominently.

Miscellany:

• Was an honor roll student at Glenville, but did have to retake the ACT at least once. If you’re worried about potential problems down the road, I wouldn’t be. ACTs are proxies of aptitude, but imperfect ones.
• Is in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and a member of the Play It Smart program.
• Jermil played his first two years at Cleveland’s Villa Angela-St. Joseph HS. Transfers feature prominently on the Glenville HS team.
• Jermil was All-Conference and All-Ohio as a defensive end for the Tarblooders in his senior year. He averaged 81 tackles, 10 sacks, 22 TFLs, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery as a senior. The Tarblooders won their conference, but I believe bottomed out in the first round of the playoffs.
• Jermil Martin’s mom — Cathleen Martin — gave birth to two sets of twins. Jermil and another sibling compromise one set of twins. The other set of twins are approximately 11 years Jermil’s junior. This factoid alone has Tressel smitten with Cathleen Martin’s toughness and hoping that it was passed along to Jermil.
• Will wear no. 41 for the Buckeyes, which was his number in high school. The choice of number has Tressel implicitly setting Keith Byars as a benchmark for him. Indeed, I’ve been in the Ohio State locker room before, and I remember very clearly that the Buckeye players all have a little sheet hanging in their locker of previous greats who wore the same number they have. At the bottom of the sheet of paper is something along the lines of a question or a challenge asking the player if they have the wherewithal to live up to the mystique of that number in light of past individual accolades. No: I’m not expecting Jermil Martin to compete for a Heisman and I doubt Tressel is either, but Keith Byars is near and dear to Tressel’s heart because his reign of terror coincides with Tressel’s days as a QB and receivers coach for the Buckeyes.
• Is a HS teammate of Shaq Rowell, who became the first to fortify the Glenville-Ohio State pipeline in the 2008 class. I’m guessing they will be roommates at Ohio State. If nothing else, this serves as an incredibly flimsy pretext to scold Bucknuts for not providing a comprehensive list of who is rooming with who. It’s not like it’s relevant information, but it sure does pad a “miscellany” section of a long and rambling post. I only have two roommate pairings down: Domicone-DiLillo-Williams-Buchanan and Pryor-Howard-Stoneburner-Brewster though I forget where exactly I read the last grouping. Any help here is appreciated.

The Quotable Jermil Martin Fluff Piece: I know I haven’t done one of these in awhile, either through laziness or dearth of quotes, but Jermil Martin gets one because of the wealth of quotes of asskickery in this Bucknuts entry. Since it’s a premium entry, I don’t think Bucknuts higher-ups would like me sharing too much copyrighted content⁶. Here are my two favorites:

“I’m a very humble young man and I’m very modest,” said Martin when he was asked to introduce himself to the Ohio State fans who don’t know much about him. “I just keep my mouth shut and do what I have to do to succeed. You might not hear a lot about me but all you need to know is that I have a very big heart and I’m trying hard to get it done.”

“I’ve been trying to earn this Ohio State scholarship for the longest time … Every day that I’m in the weight room I’m like, ‘Ohio State better give me a scholarship.’ I scream it out to my players because that’s how I felt. That’s my passion and I’ve always wanted to be a Buckeye. So as soon as they offered me I knew I was going to take it.”

This blog wholeheartedly endorses signing up for a free trial at Bucknuts through the duration of June in order to read the rest of the article. You can imagine how I feel in having to limit myself to two quotes. He also discusses how much he likes the casual violence that comes with blocking as well as how much he thinks Tressel will like what he sees if he ever gets a carry from the fullback position.

Again, absent any real way to end these silly features that doesn’t incorporate the ‘consider yourself better known’ line with the “The More You Know” image: Jermil Martin, consider yourself better known… I think.

1. Damn… I’ve really strung these things out… [↩]
2. though in head-to-head recruiting matchups for Tarblooders, we are almost unbeatable. Any Tarblooder who goes any place other than Ohio State is usually a player without an Ohio State offer. [↩]
3. Unless something incredibly screwy happens, Lamaar Thomas is remaining a wide receiver. [↩]
4. see, I remember microeconomics at Ohio State. Who says I didn’t? [↩]
5. Ohio State later added Zach Boren, who will likely end up as a fullback [↩]
6. please don’t yell at me Bucknuts higher-ups [↩]