HuntingtonÈËÑýÉ«Ç鯬™s Robby Martin is introduced before the Highlanders take on Hurricane during a high school football game on Friday, Nov. 3, 2023, at Huntington High School.
HuntingtonÈËÑýÉ«Ç鯬™s Robby Martin is introduced before the Highlanders take on Hurricane during a high school football game on Friday, Nov. 3, 2023, at Huntington High School.
HUNTINGTON ÈËÑýÉ«Ç鯬” Tee Higgins was the main attraction on Saturday at Huntington High School, but Robby Martin wasnÈËÑýÉ«Ç鯬™t far behind.
The former Highlanders offensive lineman and current West Virginia University football player held court, in a sense, in the office of Huntington coach Billy Seals before going outside to Bob Sang Stadium to watch Higgins, a Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver, run a kids camp.
Martin greeted his former coaches, teammates, parents and anybody else who wandered through the locker room eager to hear how he is doing at WVU.
ÈËÑýÉ«Ç鯬œItÈËÑýÉ«Ç鯬™s going really well,ÈËÑýÉ«Ç鯬 said Martin, a redshirt freshman who transferred to the Mountaineers from North Carolina State.
ÈËÑýÉ«Ç鯬œIÈËÑýÉ«Ç鯬™m working really hard and have been getting at it for weeks now. WeÈËÑýÉ«Ç鯬™re getting ready this summer on the grind getting ready to play.ÈËÑýÉ«Ç鯬
Martin said he strongly considered WVU out of high school and liked then-Mountaineers coach Neal Brown but preferred the Wolfpack. When N.C. State assistant Tony Gibson, a Mountain State native who recruited him to Raleigh, left to become the coach at Marshall, Martin too headed home to play for coach Rich Rodriguez.
Martin has worked at left guard and center since transferring.
ÈËÑýÉ«Ç鯬œItÈËÑýÉ«Ç鯬™s going really well,ÈËÑýÉ«Ç鯬 said Martin, who saw time at tackle and center at Huntington High. ÈËÑýÉ«Ç鯬œI had to get adjusted to the offense. ItÈËÑýÉ«Ç鯬™s really good, though. I like playing guard. I can play faster.ÈËÑýÉ«Ç鯬
The adjustment is more than terminology.
ÈËÑýÉ«Ç鯬œItÈËÑýÉ«Ç鯬™s different from what we ran at N.C. State,ÈËÑýÉ«Ç鯬 Martin said.
ÈËÑýÉ«Ç鯬œThe scheme is different. I have to drop a lot of old habits I had.ÈËÑýÉ«Ç鯬
Leaving the Wolfpack wasnÈËÑýÉ«Ç鯬™t easy. Martin said he didnÈËÑýÉ«Ç鯬™t make the decision lightly.
ÈËÑýÉ«Ç鯬œI had so many good relationships there,ÈËÑýÉ«Ç鯬 Martin said. ÈËÑýÉ«Ç鯬œI liked it there, but I had to take this good opportunity. The transition was kind of tough at first, but having guys I knew and grew up with made it easier. It was a good thing.ÈËÑýÉ«Ç鯬
The 6-foot-3, 297-pounder said he expects nothing to be handed to him.
ÈËÑýÉ«Ç鯬œI need to have a good summer and a good fall camp to get some good playing time,ÈËÑýÉ«Ç鯬 said Martin, who is taking summer classes. ÈËÑýÉ«Ç鯬œYou have to perform to play.ÈËÑýÉ«Ç鯬
Out of high school, Martin owned offers from N.C. State, Marshall, WVU, Akron, Appalachian State, Ball State, Bowling Green, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Delaware State, Duke, Eastern Kentucky, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Illinois, Jacksonville State, Kent State, Maryland, Miami (Florida), Miami (Ohio), Mississippi State, Old Dominion, Penn State, Tennessee, South Florida, Toledo, Virginia, Virginia Tech and West Virginia State.
Rodriguez was coach at Jacksonville State at the time.
Martin said Marshall was also high on his list of schools when he decided to transfer.
ÈËÑýÉ«Ç鯬œI considered it a lot,ÈËÑýÉ«Ç鯬 Martin said.
ÈËÑýÉ«Ç鯬œI miss coach Gibson. He and I have a great relationship. HeÈËÑýÉ«Ç鯬™s a great coach. I have nothing but good things to say about him. HeÈËÑýÉ«Ç鯬™s definitely a guy whoÈËÑýÉ«Ç鯬™s tough and has a hard edge to him. HeÈËÑýÉ«Ç鯬™ll do a good job at Marshall.ÈËÑýÉ«Ç鯬
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