VITAL SIGNS
OU’S CLASS RAMBO, LAMB HELP SOONERS FILL WIDEOUT NEEDS OSU’S CLASS MARTIN ONE OF 11 DEFENSIVE PLAYERS SIGNED THE STATE’S CLASS EIGHT FROM PC WEST SIGN FOOTBALL LETTERS Martin signs OSU letter with his family
OOLOGAH — Only three chairs sat at the presentation table for National Signing Day inside Oologah High School, but when it was Brock Martin’s turn putting ink to paper Wednesday, he was surrounded by 11 relatives to celebrate his future at Oklahoma State.
Smiling in an orange windbreaker and a white OSU snapback, Martin said, “Family is always first before anything.”
A fitting scene to cap his recruitment, considering the rationale for becoming a Cowboy.
Martin’s father, Robert, knew his youngest son had supreme athletic ability since childhood, but never dreamed he’d develop into a 6-foot3, 218-pound force at defensive end. Martin totaled 439 tackles and 52 sacks through four years at Bixby and finished No. 4 on The Oklahoman’s Super 30 list, and sure enough, the scholarship offers rolled in with OSU, Texas Tech, Kansas State
and Baylor joining several others.
There was just something different about the Cowboys.
Martin was born in Texas but grew up an OSU football fan with the influence of an uncle who graduated from the university. As for Martin’s parents? They supported the Sooners. “I guess it was kind of a rebel thing,” Martin said.
However, it didn’t take long for Robert Martin to switch alliances.
When the family was unable to plan an inhome OSU visit due to time restraints last month, coach Mike Gundy and defensive line coach Joe Bob Clements drove to Vinita to watch Martin wrestle for a district championship.
Turns out, Gundy and Robert Martin were both Oklahoma high school athletes in the early 1980s — Gundy at Midwest City and Robert Martin at Collinsville — so the pair reminisced about their glory days.
“We got to sit with them for about three hours,” Robert Martin said. “You find out a lot of things you’ve got in common.”
When Martin arrives in Stillwater for summer workouts, he’ll face stiff competition for playing time at defensive end. The Cowboys return five players next fall — Jordan Brailford, Trey Carter, Jarrell Owens, Cole Walterscheid, Tralund Webber — with significant experience at the position.
That’s done little to Martin’s confidence as a potential instant impact player.
“I talked to coach Clements (Tuesday) night about possibly getting some playing time as a true freshman,” Martin said. “I might play an outside linebacker/ defensive end hybrid position.”
The chance for early playing time was significant in Martin’s decision to play at OSU, but it was hardly the driving force behind his signature. In essence, the Cowboys have become an extension of the 11 people who joined Martin on stage Wednesday.
“That’s kind of the main reason I committed,” Martin said. “It made me feel at home and welcome. Like I was kind of like a son to them. They really wanted me there and they actually care about me as a person, not like a piece of property as a football player.”