Mike Martin (defensive lineman)

Mike Martin

File:20090823 Mike Martin crop.jpg Martin at the 2009 Fan Appreciation Day
No. 93     Tennessee Titans
Defensive tackle
Personal information
Date of birth: (1990-09-01) September 1, 1990
Place of birth: Detroit, Michigan
High School: Novi (MI) Detroit Catholic Central
Height: 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	Weight: 306 lb (139 kg)
Career information
College: Michigan
NFL Draft: 2012 / Round: 3 / Pick: 82
Debuted in 2012 for the Tennessee Titans
Career history
*Tennessee Titans ( 2012–present)
Roster status: Active
Career highlights and awards
Gatorade Player of the Year in Michigan, 2007 MHSAA Division I heavyweight wrestling champion, 2007 and 2008 MHSAA Division I shot put champion, 2007 and 2008 2010 All-Big Ten Conference (2nd team, coaches; honorable mention, media) 2011 All-Big Ten Conference (2nd team, coaches and media) Gatorade Player of the Year in Michigan, 2007
Career NFL statistics as of 2012
Tackles	37
Sacks	3.0
Interceptions	0
Forced Fumbles	0

Michael Brendan Martin (born September 1, 1990) is an American football defensive tackle for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Titans in the third round of the 2012 NFL Draft. He played college football for the Michigan Wolverines from 2008 to 2011. At Michigan, Martin recorded 172 tackles and appeared in 49 games, including 37 games as the Wolverines' starting nose tackle. He was selected as a second-team All-Big Ten Conference player by both the coaches and media in 2011 and received the same recognition from the coaches in 2010. In high school, he was the state Gatorade Player of the Year in football. He was also a two-time Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) state wrestling champion as well as a two-time MHSAA state shot put champion.

High school career

Martin attended Detroit Catholic Central High School in Novi, Michigan, where he was a multi-sport athlete competing in football, wrestling and track and field. In football, he recorded 206.5 tackles for Catholic Central and was selected as the Gatorade Player of the Year in Michigan for 2007. Though he only took up wrestling as a junior in high school, he won Michigan's Division I state heavyweight wrestling championship in both 2007 and 2008. He was also a two-time state champion in the shot put, and his 2008 throw of 63 feet, 9 inches came within three inches of breaking the all-time state record set by T.J. Duckett. As a sophomore in high school, Martin also ranked as the No. 1 junior dog handler for the American Kennel Club. As a football recruit he was ranked as the 7th, 8th and 12th best defensive tackle in the nation by Rivals.com, ESPN, and Scout.com, respectively.

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	40‡	Commit date
Mike Martin DT	Redford Charter Township, Michigan	Detroit Catholic Central (MI)	6 ft 1.5 in (186.7 cm)	281.5 lb (127.7 kg)	4.9	Jun 5, 2007
	Scout:File:4 stars.svg.png   Rivals:File:4 stars.svg.png   ESPN grade: 80
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 12 (DT)   Rivals: 193, 16 (DT), 7 (MI)  ESPN: 8 (DT)
Note: In many cases, Scout and Rivals may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, an average of the two was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Michigan Football Commitments". Rivals.com. http://rivals.yahoo.com/footballrecruiting/football/recruiting/commitments/2008/alabama-29. Retrieved October 5, 2010. "2008 Michigan Football Commits". Scout.com. http://scout.scout.com/a.z?s=162&p=9&c=8&yr=2008. Retrieved October 5, 2010. "ESPN". ESPN.com. http://espn.go.com/college-football/recruiting/school/_/id/130/class/2008. Retrieved October 5, 2010. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. http://scout.scout.com/a.z?s=162&p=9&c=14&yr=2008. Retrieved October 5, 2010. "2008 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. http://www.rivals.com/TeamRank.asp?type=0&sort=0&year=2008. Retrieved October 5, 2010.

College career

Martin had been a fan of Michigan football since childhood and gave his oral commitment to head coach Lloyd Carr during an official visit in 2007. When Carr retired after the 2007 season, Martin withdrew his oral commitment and was heavily recruited by both Notre Dame and Michigan State. Martin renewed his commitment to Michigan in January 2008.

Martin enrolled at the University of Michigan in the fall of 2008 and played on the Wolverines' defensive line as a true freshman. Michigan head coach Rich Rodriguez said, "I don't know if I've ever had a true freshman defensive lineman, I guess, as Division I ready as Mike has been. He's going to keep getting better, so we're excited about him." Martin earned freshman All-American honors and led Michigan's freshmen with 20 tackles.

Martin has credited his wrestling technique with helping him against bigger opponents: "It's leverage; it's getting under a guy. Just knowing if a guy is on his heels or toes on the line, you're able to feel if he's on his base or not. In wrestling, that's a big aspect of it, because you've got to be able to feel the different motions of a guy." Martin has also credited wrestling with improving his foot and hand speed.

As a sophomore in 2009, Martin was the starting nose tackle (sometimes referred to as a nose guard) in all 12 games for Michigan. He totaled 51 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, and two sacks in 2009.

File:20100904 Michigan Defense vs. Connecticut.jpg

2010 Michigan Wolverines football team defense including #32 Jordan Kovacs, #8 Jonas Mouton, #68 Martin, and #88 Craig Roh

In the winter prior to the 2010 season, Martin underwent surgery to repair a shoulder injury that he sustained during his freshman year. At the start of the 2010 football season, Martin said he felt 110% following the surgery and added, "It feels good to play healthy."

Martin was selected by ESPN.com as one of Michigan's two "weight room warriors" for his 505-pound bench press and 700-pound squat. In 2010, Michigan linebacker Craig Roh said of Martin:

"Mike Martin is just an animal out there. He's the strongest person I've ever seen in the weight room. It's really showing on the field. He's taking on double teams. (Against Massachusetts), I think the play he sacked the quarterback, he beat a double team and sacked him. Which is — stupid."

Defensive end Ryan Van Bergen added, "He's so fast to get into the backfield. Credit that to his wrestling. I don't know how he can be so explosive and at the same time be moving his feet that fast. It's very unique. He's been unreal." Despite the poor performance of Michigan's defense in the first part of the 2010 season, Dave Dye of Fox Sports Detroit praised Martin's performance:

"Martin is the exception on a lousy Michigan defense. He gives the Wolverines a semblance of stability in the midst of utter chaos. Can you imagine where this defense would be without him? Frightening. He has been the MVP-NND (Most Valuable Player -- Not Named Denard). ... He is the team's quiet hero."

Following the 2010 season, Martin was selected as a second-team All-Big Ten Conference player by the coaches and received an honorable mention from the media.

As a senior in 2011, Martin had a career-high 64 tackles, including a career-high 10 tackles against Virginia Tech in the 2012 Sugar Bowl. He was selected as a second-team All-Big Ten player by both the coaches and the media after the 2011 season. Martin recorded 172 career tackles at Michigan. He appeared in 49 games during his four years at Michigan, including 37 games as the Wolverines' starting nose tackle.

Professional career

Pre-draft

Pre-draft measureables

Ht	Wt	40-yd dash	10-yd split	20-yd split	20-ss	3-cone	Vert	Broad	BP	Wonderlic
6 ft 1 in	306 lb	4.88 s			4.25 s	7.19 s	33.5 in	9 ft 5 in	36 rep

Martin was one of 30 defensive tackles and 58 defensive linemen that participated in the February 2012 NFL Scouting Combine. He ranked in the top four among defensive tackles in all six events. His 36 repetitions in the bench press ranked second among defensive tackles, second among defensive linemen, and third at the entire combine (behind Michigan team mate David Molk who was second with 41). His 40-yard dash time of 4.88 ranked third among defensive tackles. He ranked fourth among the defensive tackles and 13th among defensive linemen in the vertical jump with a height of 33.5 inches (85.1 cm). His standing long jump distance of 9 feet 5 inches (2.87 m) ranked first among defensive tackles, although that distance was only 14th among defensive linemen. He ranked third among defensive tackles with a 3 cone drill with a time of 7.19, which tied for 15th among defensive linemen. He was second among defensive tackles in the 20-yard shuttle with a time of 4.25, which placed sixth among defensive linemen.

Tennessee Titans

Martin was selected by the Tennessee Titans in the third round (82nd overall pick) of the 2012 NFL Draft. Martin was the first player from the Michigan Wolverines to be selected in the 2012 Draft. He is one of three Michigan Wolverines and 41 Big Ten players drafted. After being selected by the Titans, Martin said: "Actually, I have really good family friends that live in Tennessee and in Nashville, so I've gotten a taste of Nashville a little bit, and I'm excited to explore it a little bit more—get to know the city and the people." Titans general manager Ruston Webster said of Martin: "He is what you want in a nose tackle. He is tough as nails, a grinder. He doesn't mind doing the dirty work and he brings the kind of mentality we want in our defense." On October 2, Martin was fined $15,750 for hitting Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck.

External links

• Tennessee Titans bio
• Michigan Wolverines bio
• Martin archive at AnnArbor.com