Martin Helped Save Running Game
Dec 20 | Football
By Tom Luicci
ScarletKnights.com
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - The freshman cockiness disappeared the moment Robert Martin got his first practice look at the running back competition he was up against. Paul James. Justin Goodwin. Desmon Peoples. All established workhorse types when healthy.
For a newcomer who arrived at Rutgers after missing all but the first game of his senior season in high school due to a knee injury it was an abrupt wakeup call.
"I thought I was going to get my share of carries when I first got here. I had confidence in myself," said the 6-0, 200-pounder from Harrisburg, Pa. "But then it got to the point where they had three older backs and they were all good and I was thinking I'm just going to have to wait my turn and do what I can do to help on special teams.
"That's the first time it hits your that it's not high school anymore. I came in to compete for a job but you reach a point where you have to be realistic as a young player when you see what's in front of you."
But a funny thing happened just as Martin was preparing to take a backseat in the running back competition. James was lost for the season due to an injury. Then Peoples was. And Goodwin, effective in spots, was tried briefly on defense.
That opened the door just enough for Martin. He has not looked back since powering his way through it.
"It feels even better to do what I've done because it was unexpected," Martin said. "The same thing happened to me in high school. There's no feeling like when you burst onto the scene when nobody knows about you or expects anything from you."
As Rutgers heads into the Dec. 26 Quick Lane Bowl at Detroit's Ford Field against North Carolina, Martin has shown himself to be much more than the Scarlet Knights' running back of the future. After gaining eight yards on four carries through the first six games, he has amassed 326 yards on 64 carries - with five touchdowns - over the final six.
That puts him in position - if he can record the first 100-yard game of his career - within reach of finishing as Rutgers' leading rusher for the season. He's 113 yards away (from Peoples).
"It's has definitely been a good year for me," Martin said. "Just to come back from the injury I had in high school and then being able to stay healthy the whole year was a big accomplishment for me. I felt like I got better as the weeks went on, too. It was everything I could have hoped for."
Martin and classmate Josh Hicks have provided much-needed production to the injury-ravaged running game, combining for 591 yards and six touchdowns. It helped save the 7-5 season.
"I'm pleased with the effort," head coach Kyle Flood said of Martin and Hicks. "We've used five different guys. Paul is a special player. Paul has shown that he can create big runs consistently in the run game. I think the two young running backs (Josh Hicks and Robert Martin) are starting to show that.
"I'm excited about getting Des (Peoples) back next year and what Justin Goodwin can add to the offense. I think it's a talented room. It's one of the more talented rooms on our football team. That's good because we've needed every one of them this year."
Martin's accomplishments are even more impressive considering he had essentially not played since 2012.
"It has definitely been a tiring feeling," he said. "It was a lot of hard work. You have to adjust to a different mentality. It's not high school. It's a longer season than anything you've ever gone through before. You have to fight through it. You have to find a way when you feel like you're feeling it.
"I had those feelings of hitting the wall. You have those days when you say `I don't know how I'm going to do it.' But you find a way to grind through and once you see your teammates working hard that kind of pushes you through it."
