No need for NFL crash course
Martin learned pro-style ropes
It’s hard to imagine Jonathan Martin will have much difficulty synthesizing an NFL playbook.
The offensive tackle comes from a family of Harvard graduates and nearly chose to play for the Crimson. Instead, he opted to study the classics at Stanford — not a bad school in its own right — and, most important, starred for three years in the Cardinal’s complex, Nfl-mimicking offense.
After being told by the NFL’S advisory committee that he’d likely be a first-round draft pick this spring, Martin is following quarterback Andrew Luck and guard David Decastro, fellow Stanford juniors, from the Pac-12 to the pros.
“I was done with school,” says Martin, who is a few credits shy of his degree. “I enjoyed my time at Stanford, but I was ready to take the next step after talking to my coaches and family.”
After thriving in a program that took off under former coach Jim Harbaugh, who took over the San Francisco 49ers in 2011, and serving as Luck’s blindside sentinel — Martin politely laughed at the notion that he might be blocking for an inferior quarterback once he makes the NFL leap — the two-time all-conference selection doesn’t anticipate a rocky transition.
“We run a West Coast system, same terminology (as the NFL), same protections, and we carry a very thick playbook every week,” he says.
Those attributes should help impress NFL talent evaluators.
“You think about the Jim Har- baugh effect of making Stanford this big, powerful team, and you begin by looking at an offensive line that could have strong pros,” NFL Network analyst Bucky Brooks, a former player and scout, says with a nod to Martin and Decastro.
“You look at (Martin’s) skill set, he strikes me as a strong left tackle prospect given his ability to move. . . . He’s not the most aggressive player or the nastiest player, but you have to be tough and physical at Stanford.”
It’s an assessment Martin is quick to concur with given the detractors who question his ferocity and ability to blaze trails in the running game.
“I would disagree with them saying I’m not a physical player — I’m one of the main keys to the Stanford running game,” says the man who nearly helped tailback Toby Gerhart win the 2009 Heisman Trophy.
Still, Martin says he’s more comfortable at left tackle, a position long valued for exceptional pass blocking on the blind side of right-handed quarterbacks, but adds, “I just want to play as a rookie and start as rookie.”
It seems that playing the game has long driven Martin’s priorities. He says of his recruiting visit to Harvard: “Cool place, but I wanted to play college football on the national stage.”
Stanford proved to be a wise choice for Martin, who might have helped lay the foundation for many future stars to graduate from Palo Alto to the NFL.
“I really think we’re going to see a trend in college football going in the Stanford direction because of the character issues,” says NFL Network analyst Heath Evans, a longtime NFL fullback. “It has better men and better players, and that’s a focus factor of dominant (NFL) teams, which have gone toward those players.”
That is all fine and good, but Martin seems like a stereotypical lineman, largely disinterested in media interviews, accolades or his legacy.
“I think that’s the nature of the position. Offensive linemen enjoy the dirty work, making the quarterback and running backs look good,” he says. “That’s what we function on, getting our jobs done.”