Tight end Mike Martinez, who hasn’t played football in years, brings toughness to Idaho’s offense

Oct. 17 – MOSCOW, Idaho – When you meet Mike Martinez, one thought immediately comes to mind.

“This guy is a football player.”

However, that hasn’t been the case for Martinez for a while, which is why it’s a special time for him to resurrect his senior career for one final time with the Idaho Vandals.

Martinez is listed on Idaho’s roster as a 6-foot-1, 220-pound tight end, but the numbers alone don’t reflect his imposing size.

Every inch, every pound is useful.

Martinez credits the Northwest’s rugged landscape as one of Idaho’s unexpected charms as he ventured here from his hometown of Long Beach, Calif., and the wreckage of his UCLA career

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“He’s the best-looking player on our team,” Idaho coach Jason Eck said.

In Moscow, among the vandals, Martinez hardly seems self-confident. He doesn’t take any of his current happiness for granted.

To even get Eck to offer him a job in Idaho, Martinez had to videotape drills in a park.

“He hadn’t played football in two years,” Eck said. “You could gain or lose 100 pounds in that time.”

Last July 4, Eck received a text message from a fellow coach, Derek Sage, now the tight ends coach at Toledo University, who had been Martinez’s position coach at UCLA.

“He said, ‘I have a kid that I had at UCLA. We tried to get him to Nevada or Toledo, but he didn’t meet all of his needs,'” Eck said.

Martinez admitted that his tryout at the park “felt pretty crazy.”

“But it reminded me how much I wanted to play,” he said, “the lengths I would go to.”

Martinez was a three- and four-star recruit from California football factory Mater Dei High School when he signed with the Bruins. From his freshman year in 2019 until missing the season due to a reported leg injury in the third game of 2021, Martinez played in every UCLA game and was praised as a dominant blocker.

He completed spring ball with the Bruins in 2022 and reported to preseason camp.

Then suddenly he was gone.

Then-UCLA coach Chip Kelly cryptically reported that Martinez had left the program.

Martinez said he struggles with the effects of concussions.

“It messed up all areas of my life, football and other areas,” he said. “The rehabilitation took two or three years. But something about football appealed to me. I took steps every day to get back.”

Eck played as an offensive lineman on a team that won the Rose Bowl in Wisconsin. He coached football as a graduate assistant or assistant football coach at Wisconsin, Colorado, Idaho, Winona State, Ball State, Hampton, Western Illinois, Minnesota State, Montana State and South Dakota State before being hired as Idaho’s head coach for 2022 Season.

“He’s as good a blocking tight end as we’ve ever had,” Eck said of Martinez, and that includes South Dakota State’s Dallas Goedert, who has been with the Philadelphia Eagles since being drafted in the NFL in the second round in 2018 .

Martinez arrived in Idaho on time for the third preseason training session. He made an immediate impact as a blocker, and his role as a receiver grew as he became more familiar with Idaho’s offense.

The highlight was catching a touchdown pass in the Vandals’ home win against Northern Arizona.

“Honestly, it worked out really well,” Martinez said. “It worked out better than I thought. I didn’t expect to get so close to everyone here. I didn’t expect there to be a community.”

“It reignited my passion.”

At UCLA, Martinez was named to the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll to handle the academic side of representing Idaho.

He said he would like to play in the NFL when his college career ends.

In the meantime, he’s relishing the opportunity to wear the helmet and pads again as a Vandal.

“Seeing all the hard work pay off is really nice. That’s one of the best things about being a tight end,” Martinez said.

The Vandals (4-3, 1-2 Big Sky Conference) are coming off a 38-7 loss to third-ranked Montana State. Idaho is ranked 14th and awaits a home game against Cal Poly on Saturday. The Vandals are still hoping for a good playoff run.

“We always strive for a championship,” Martinez said. “That is our expectation.”

He enjoys the chase.

“It was fun,” he said. “Really exciting.”