Martin Celebrates Birth of His Son, Husky Football Rebirth

The UW edge rusher comes up with a pair of sacks in an offensive-minded game.

Tackler. Sacker. Blocker. Father.

The world for Jeremiah Martin got a little crazy over a 72-hour period. If anything, his football resume and family tree looks good.

It began with the University of Washington edge rusher missing Thursday's Husky practice and sharing in the birth of his son, Kasyn, his second child.

It continued with the one-time Texas A&M transfer and California native leading the Huskies in tackles with 9 in their 49-39 shootout win over Arizona on Saturday afternoon.

It was punctuated by his team-best 2 sacks of Wildcats quarterback Jayden de Laura, with the first one coming on the third play of the game to force what would be a rare punting situation in this point fest.

It was capped off by Martin coming in on offense a couple of times during the second quarter as a quasi tight end to block in short-yardage situations, in particular leading the way for Cam Davis' 1-yard touchdown run.

"I play a little tight end, I play a little defense — I do it all," Martin said. "Whatever the team wants me to do, I'm there."

The 6-foot-4, 267-pound defender has become a full-time starter this season after playing 32 games as a reserve for his SEC team and spending last season with the Huskies rotating in until an Apple Cup start, his first at the college level. His football career is right where he wants it.

Once Kalen DeBoer's staff came in, those coaches took an instant liking to Martin's physicality and he's one reason the talented Zion Tupuola-Fetui comes off the bench for the Huskies. Martin next became a team captain. He has a UW-leading 5 sacks in seven games.

If all of that wasn't enough, the Huskies sent the rugged No. 3, not to be confused with wide receiver Taj Davis, who wears the same jersey digit, out with the offense a couple of times against Arizona to clear a path blocking. Of course, Martin and this Davis couldn't be on the field at the same time with a duplicate number.

“We snuck him in there,”  DeBoer said of Martin’s offensive appearance. “He’s been in there before. He had a kid on Thursday and you go play defense [Saturday]. You might as well just throw some more things on his plate, right? He’s just a beast out there. There’s some things where we feel like he can help us out. He really got up there and mashed."

If all of that football stuff wasn't just a little overwhelming trying to keep up with his two-way responsibilities, Martin is a new father. His coach remembers him returning to the team on Friday all excited by the birth of his son yet ready to play a football game.

“He’s not the one having the kid, but it’s a lot; it's emotionally draining," DeBoer said. "I was thinking, ‘He’s going to hit the wall on Saturday,' but he’s a guy that’s so positive. He came to me after the game and was just so appreciative of where things are at, just personally and also on the football field." 

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