Late changes force steady Martinek to adjust

As Joe Martinek looks around the college football landscape, he sees fullbacks with experience dating back to their Pop Warner days.

The Rutgers football team’s senior fullback does not have that luxury.

“I think I’ve done well just doing it for a couple months,” Martinek said. “At the college level, a lot of people play fullback for their whole lives. I made the change in a couple months. It just adds another thing to my repertoire.”

Martinek learned of his move to fullback from head coach Greg Schiano during the spring after spending his first three seasons at running back.

But after undergoing ankle surgery during the offseason, Martinek had to wait until training camp to learn the position on the field.

Schiano waited as Martinek learned how to become a more physical presence as a run blocker, but the process is ongoing.

Redshirt freshman Michael Burton earned the majority of reps at the position last week against Army after slowly becoming a more prominent member of the offense.

Schiano insists the move has less to do with Martinek’s grasping of the fullback position than Burton’s steady play in practice.

“I just think Michael is earning his repetitions,” Schiano said. “As I’ve told you before around here, every day you earn your reps. That’s the way it works. It doesn’t change for anyone or anything.”

Martinek was a more capable pass catcher out of the backfield in offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti’s pro-style system. He is second on the team with 23 catches, but Burton continues to vie for reps with two regular season games remaining.

Burton caught his first career touchdown pass against Army, and his 232-pound frame fits the fullback mold more than Martinek’s.

Martinek views the position change as a process, but with only one season of eligibility, it is a brief one.

“I just tested myself at doing other things to basically see what I’m capable of,” Martinek said. “If the coaches ask me to do something, I see how I respond and how well I can do it.”

Martinek was one of three backs in 2008 that attempted to replace former Scarlet Knight Ray Rice’s production once he opted for the NFL. Rice rushed for more than 2,000 yards in his final season and never rushed for less than 1,000 yards each year.

Rutgers failed to produce a 1,000-yard rusher in the four years since. It had four different leading rushers during the span.

Kordell Young suffered from mounting injuries each year, and Martinek outlasted former backfield mate Jourdan Brooks, who transferred following the 2009 season. Jordan Thomas, the Knights’ leading rusher last year, moved to cornerback in the offseason.

Redshirt freshman Jawan Jamison now takes the majority of the reps in the Rutgers backfield, but he carried the ball only seven times against Army as sophomore Jeremy Deering emerged.

Martinek rushed for nearly 1,000 yards during the 2009 campaign, but even he fell victim to injuries as a junior, leading to the Knights’ reliance on the Wildcat.

Now Martinek faces his final home game after defining the Rutgers run game for nearly three seasons.

“I’m just going about my week like it’s a normal week,” he said. “After the season I’ll look back on it.”

He also figures to look back on the constant pounding he took as one of the few contributors to the Rutgers running game during his career.

Injuries hampered Young after arriving in Piscataway as a four-star recruit. De’Antwan Williams left the program earlier in the year, seldom earning opportunities to see the field as another four-star recruit as a high school running back.

Brooks opted for Morgan State to close his college career after Martinek built up equity with the program, so much so Schiano never diverted from the Hopatcong, N.J., native until injury.

Yes, Martinek was the state’s all-time leading rusher in high school. But a two-star recruit’s attempt to follow Rice’s production left Martinek in an unenviable position.

He did not face it alone at first, but ultimately he was the only one remaining.

“Honestly, it hasn’t really hit me,” he said. “I don’t think it will until the season’s over. Yeah, it’s my last time playing here, but it won’t be the last time I’ll be here. I’ll still be back.”