It had been over three years since Randy Martinez last trotted onto the football field as a starter so last Saturday’s game against Indiana State felt very special for the Cincinnati left guard.

“It was the first start of my (college) career, and it felt amazing,” said Martinez. “I’ve come a long way, and Coach Mahoney (UC offensive line coach) has taught me a lot. I’m glad he had enough confidence in me to put me in the game.”

After being a 2nd team all-state defensive lineman at Teaneck High School in New Jersey, Martinez came to Cincinnati as a defensive tackle, but after a one season audition on the defensive front, he was moved to center. That experiment last for one year before he landed at his current position of offensive guard.

At 6 feet 2 inches tall, Martinez is the shortest of UC’s offensive linemen, but he feels some other traits make up for his lack of size.

“I know I’m not the biggest offensive lineman we have, but I play with heart and have good technique. No one will work harder than me, and I’m always trying to improve my technique. I work with (Jason) Kelce every day on my technique and footwork.”
Martinez said he weighs in the neighborhood of 290 pounds.

Although he only recently turned twenty-one years old, this is the redshirt junior’s fourth year in the program, and the daily challenges he faced in practices have helped to prepare him for this new assignment as a starter.

“I’ve had to go against guys like Terrill Byrd and Ricardo Mathews, and that has helped me mature and has shown me what kind of physical shape I need to be in,” said Martinez.

Every player wants to get on the field as soon as possible, but because of the physical nature of the offensive line positions, many do not start to contribute until their third or fourth season. Martinez says he never had a timetable for winning a starting job.

“You have to have faith in your ability and faith in your coaches that they will do the right thing,” he said. “I live my life the right way every day, on and off the field. I knew as long as I stayed focused and kept my faith, everything would work out.”

Butch Jones and his staff insist that players learn how to play more than one position so they have more flexibility. Martinez believes he can play either guard spot as well as center.

“I played right guard last year and am playing left guard now. It really doesn’t matter to me because I know both those spots well, and I also am ready if they ever need to play center again. Coach Mahoney said to be ready if anything ever happened, and I’ve got my snaps down pretty well.”

Left guard seems to be the best fit since he also played that position at Teaneck.
Cincinnati’s starting left guard comes from a very close knit family, and although they were unable to see him in his first collegiate start last Saturday afternoon, they improvised as best they could.

“They were upset they couldn’t see my first start, but my brother lives in Florida and got to see the game on-line. He had the family on the phone for four hours straight telling them what was happening so it was still a great experience for all of them.”
Martinez’s older brother played football at Florida International.

This Thursday night the Martinez family won’t have a problem watching the game at North Carolina State since it will aired on ESPN, and it’s a good bet all of them will be glued to their sets. The Jersey boy might even try to acknowledge them.

“Last week I wrote my area code, 201, on my arm, and I might try something this week too in case I make a good play and get some camera time.”