Dontae Wright: ‘We’ll have no drop off’ with Kerry Martin

Looking at the fluidity of the West Virginia secondary, redshirt sophomore Kerry Martin Jr. often gets lost in the shuffle.

The Charleston native sat out the 2020 season due to COVID-19 concerns, making him often forgotten about in the defense’s back line. But that’s not the only obstacle Martin is facing in his uphill climb back to the field.

Much like when a vintage muscle car sits motionless in a garage for years, Martin has accumulated rust. Yet, he’s already shaken it off according to his position coach.

“I’d say it probably took him six or seven practices to knock it off fully,” safeties coach Dontae Wright said. “The biggest adjustment for him was the live aspect of it, tackling. When you don’t tackle in a long time it becomes really hard to do, but he’s got back into the flow of things. Like I said, I think about six or seven practices it took him to knock that rust off and I think he’s back to full speed now — especially after Saturday.”

He hasn’t played a snap for the Mountaineers since his true freshman year, and it seems like that’s about to change. As players like Tykee Smith and Dreshun Miller depart the program, Martin is starting to become one of the elder statesmen in the Mountaineer secondary.

Given the Mountaineers’ thinning depth at safety — at least during the spring — Martin will have plenty of opportunities to carve out a role.

“I know K.J.’s not a newcomer, but K.J. Martin’s come back with us this spring after last season and now he’s coming on and having a really, really strong spring,” Wright said. “He’s got a great opportunity because Sean Mahone’s down a little bit right now so he's missed some practice.”

Despite the missed season, Martin isn’t exactly starting from zero. During his freshman season, he ranked sixth on the team in tackles, ending the season with 50, in addition totaling five pass breakups. For his efforts, he was named a member of the Pro Football Focus All-Freshman third team.

Wright believes that Martin will slot into the secondary without missing a beat.

“I think the development is there,” Wright said. “We’ll have no drop off with KJ. He understands his limitations and his liabilities, but there’ll be no drop off. He’ll be our third safety in the game right now.”

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