Kicker Ross Martin

Submitted by Kalamazoo Blue 87 on

On Saturday morning before Illinois game while waiting with my daughter for the team to walk to the stadium I ended up talking with Ross Martin's father for 5-10 minutes.  Ross and another teammate (I didn't catch his name but he looked more like a speedy guy than a lineman) came up to the game from the Cleveland area.  Both seemed like nice young men.

It sounds like academics and the Michigan business school could be a big factor in his decision.  He listed several schools as possibilities including Wisconsin, Vanderbilt, Notre Dame, and Northwestern.

I asked about the transition from a 1 inch tee in high school to no tee in college and he said that Ross was a great soccer player and had no trouble kicking off the ground.   

He asked about Rich Rodriguez's future.  I was very enthusiastic about how great his offense is and how lucky Michigan is to have him as our coach.  I think he was a little surprised at how supportive I was.  I told him I've been coming to Michigan games since 1973 and we have never had an explosive offense like the one he's building now (putting 67 points on Illinois a few hours later was nice validation).  And as soon as the young guys on defense get a little experience, he'll have us in position to compete for national titles.  Of course, it would help if we had a great kicker.

w2j2

November 11th, 2010 at 5:32 PM ^

This just illustrates how all the negative stuff about RR have impacted recruiting.  What you said was exactly true, and perhaps the first time this father has heard a positive point of view.  This is exactly what RR was talking about at his press conference this week.  Good work.

ATLWolverine

November 11th, 2010 at 6:52 PM ^

that message boards and casual fans hand-wringing had much effect on recruitment, but I think your story gives a great insight into how the parents of recruits aren't plugged into a super-secret network of CFB information; a casual conversation with a fan about the state of hte program can swing them one way or the other, especially since most if not all of the coaches recruitng their son(s) are charismatic and trying to hit all the right notes, and of course will never be totally honest regarding storm clouds on the job security horizon.

In a real sense, it's a casual conversation with a random fan like yourself outside the stadium on Saturday that can stick in their minds as a true read of the pulse of the fanbase.

MEZman

November 11th, 2010 at 7:01 PM ^

When I opened this thread I was expecting something along the lines of "there's this great kicker that we should recruit!" And I was going to ask if you were his father. So thank you very much for the change of pace and +1 for you. Also, awesome that you got to help sell him in RR.

MGoShtoink

November 11th, 2010 at 8:10 PM ^

Well done with Ross Martin's father!  I hope he ends up coming here.  As others have already said, the recruits and their parents have their ears to the ground.  Here is his highlight video...

Blake

November 12th, 2010 at 12:30 AM ^

The high school posts are wider than the college and pro versions, so they are wider compared to what we're used to on Saturdays.

High School - 23 feet, 4 inches

College - 18 feet, 6 inches

I've also been curious how much extra distance one gets by using a tee on FG's like in the video.  So, if he can kick a 60 yarder with a tee, does that equate to a 45 or 50 yarder minus the tee?  Anyone with a kicking background know a rough estimate?

FL

November 11th, 2010 at 8:32 PM ^

From Brandon Kornblue's website:

Ross is our top 2012 prospect for several reasons. Very impressive kicking FG's off the ground for a high school junior. Booming kickoffs off 2" block, still adjusting to 1". Also a pretty consistent punter. Sound technique with both. Confident, yet humble, respectful, coachable, and hungry to be the best.

http://www.kornbluekicking.com/fab50.asp

Evil Monkey

November 11th, 2010 at 9:13 PM ^

any news on us getting a kicker for 2011. Sounds like this kid will be hard to land. And I can't take another year of out of bounce kick offs and missing 30 yard field goals.