Martin Embraces the Big Game, Something He Did a Lot at A&M

In his previous college football stop, Jeremiah Martin was part of Texas A&M teams that played against four No. 1-ranked opponents, including three during the 2019 season alone (Alabama, Clemson and LSU).

So Martin has appeared in that proverbial big game. The 6-foot-4, 267-pound senior is not blinded by the national TV lights at all. You could almost hear his engine revving like a Renton street racer when he considered what's coming with 11th-ranked Michigan State visiting Husky Stadium on Saturday afternoon and playing before ABC cameras.

Yet once he first arrived at the University of Washington a year ago, Martin had to suffer through a down season like everyone in Montlake, with a 4-8 record capped by a 40-13 defeat in the Apple Cup to Washington State. That outing, memorable only because it was his first college start, has brought him to this point.

"You had that bitter taste in your mouth and you attacked every day with purpose," Martin said of the offseason. "That's what we did from December to now — just attacked every day with a purpose. Our word of the week is attack. We're going to attack every day. Come Saturday, we're going to attack and play fast and see what we can do."

There hasn't been too many big college football games in Montlake in recent seasons. In fact, Michigan State represents just the second ranked team the UW will face over the past three seasons, with Oregon showing up at Husky Stadium last fall slotted 7th in the polls and leaving with a 26-16 victory. While at Texas A&M, Martin's teams played 14 games against ranked teams.

In an interesting development for the Husky defense, Martin and Bralen Trice earned the starting jobs at edge rusher, leaving previous All-Pac-12 selection Zion Tupuola-Fetui to come off the bench alongside one-time 5-star recruit Sav'ell Smalls. They're a talented crew.

"The position is very competitive," Martin said. "So we rotate a lot and stuff like that. End of the day, we just respect each other. We're brothers. We're close. And we know that we don't let anything get to our heads."

As for ZTF, accepting a lesser role, his Husky teammate said, "He's my brother. Whatever he needs, I'm there for him. Whatever I need, he's there for me. ... We have a lot of players for this defense and a lot of plans to get a lot of guys playing time and looks rotating with each other."

As Martin and his Husky teammates come off a pair of lopsided victories over Kent State and Portland State to get the season started, the edge rusher's former school is trying to bounce back from its own Montana debacle: Appalachian State 17, Texas A&M 14.

Those SEC Aggies last weekend certainly could have used Martin and his attack mindset. Yet he's busy. He has a big game to play on Saturday.

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