Catching Them On Rebound? Martin Returns From Exile Hoping To Bring Cougars Back

WSU Spring football

Chris Martin has made one turnaround.

The senior defensive back for the Washington State football team improved his grades to become eligible for this season.

Now he has another turnaround in mind - helping the Cougars find respect again after their dismal 3-9 showing last season.

Martin watched the 1999 debacle from the stands. He failed one class in summer school last year and was a credit shy of meeting eligibility requirements.

So he was extra eager to get out on the Martin Stadium turf Tuesday for the first day of spring drills.

“I had a lot of rest last year,” Martin said of redshirting. “I was kind of disappointed. I felt like I let the team down. But I put in a lot of hard work in the off-season so I’m just ready to come back and perform.”

His current performance in the classroom: an A, a B, a C and a pass in a pass/fail course.

“I’ve been hitting the books hard,” said Martin, who said he believes things happen for a reason. “It looks like we’re going to be a lot better this year, so it worked out for the better for me.

“I was hurting big time, looking at the games from the stands. I felt like I could’ve made somewhat of a difference, but I couldn’t do it because I messed up in school.”

In 1998, Martin started all 11 games and was seventh on the team in tackles with 51, including 39 unassisted or primary tackles. He tied for the team lead with nine pass deflections.

“We need him,” said WSU coach Mike Price. “It’s been a real strenuous year on him. But he put himself in that position. It’s his bed, and he has to make it and sleep in it. I’m glad he’s here.”

Martin is part of a talented and experienced secondary that also features sophomore Marcus Trufant, senior Lamont Thompson and junior Billy Newman.

“We want to be the best secondary in the Pac-10 this year and if we’re the best in the Pac-10, we’re going to be one of the best in the country,” the 6-foot, 190-pound Martin said.

The WSU receiving corps showed Tuesday that it should provide sophomore quarterback Jason Gesser with plenty of reliable options. Seniors Farwan Zubedi and Marcus Williams both made big catches on the chilly Palouse day. The receivers and quarterbacks threw together throughout winter conditioning, so they already are comfortable playing together, Williams said.

Price has added a couple of rollouts to take advantage of Gesser’s mobility.

“I don’t know what you call it, but we’re doing a few things differently,” Price said. “We’re trying to throw a lot of new stuff at the players. The execution isn’t perfect. We’re playing a lot of new players in there, so it’s not real pretty right now. The effort’s good, and they’re trying hard to be disciplined.”

Williams says that discipline comes from maturity.

“The team is more together as a whole,” he said. “There’s a lot more camaraderie.”

The Cougars practice again today, take Thursday off, then go Friday with pads and scrimmage at 9 a.m. Saturday.

Notes

Price joked with Seattle Times beat writer Dick Rockne to keep the post-practice interview short Tuesday. He rushed away because he was headed to the Bob Dylan concert at Beasley Coliseum. “I haven’t seen him since 1963,” Price said, grinning. … Of the 16 walk-ons listed on the spring roster, five are cornerbacks and four are kickers.