AMHERST – UMass linebacker Tyler Martin of Acton needed to play solely for Don Brown when he signed on to compete at Arizona after a stellar scholastic profession at BB&N.
Brown was the Wildcats’ defensive coordinator in 2021 who enticed Martin to deliver his substantial soccer abilities to Tucson for an prolonged run within the Pac-12. Things didn’t work for both of them at Arizona.
Brown left to turn out to be the top coach at UMass following the 2021 season. Martin decamped Arizona after not seeing the sphere as a real freshman in 2022. Martin and Brown had been again collectively working towards a standard objective underneath a sweltering solar on Monday morning at McGuirk Alumni Stadium.
UMass opens the season on Aug. 26 at New Mexico State.
“I was able to establish a relationship with coach Brown who obviously loves recruiting in Massachusetts,” mentioned Martin. “I’ve recognized coach Brown now for about 5 years and he had been coming to BB&N and recruiting loads of guys from this system.
“I am just glad that I’ve been fortunate enough to continue to go on and play college football, especially for coach Brown.”
Arizona turned a nonstarter for Martin after Brown decamped however there have been different components in play that influenced his resolution to maneuver again to his house state.
The Pac-12, by quite a lot of main defections within the ranks, was already teetering towards insolvency when Arizona left to hitch the Big 12. Through the mounting disarray, Martin noticed his prospects for a university soccer profession had been brighter at UMass.
“There were a ton of factors but the biggest thing for me was that I had grown up through high school wanting to play for coach Brown,” mentioned Martin. “The indisputable fact that he was again right here in my house state was a double plus.
“I got to come back to the East Coast, come back to my home state and play for coach Brown. That was something that I didn’t think I could pass up.”
Martin wasn’t the one Wildcats’ participant to hop aboard the Donnie Brown Express out of the Valley of the Sun. Martin is considered one of six former Arizona gamers on the UMass coaching camp roster.
The group consists of junior extensive receiver Anthony Simpson, redshirt senior linebacker Jerry Roberts Jr., redshirt sophomore working again Jalen John, redshirt sophomore linebacker RJ Edwards and redshirt freshman defensive lineman Jermaine Wiggins Jr. of Boston. Overall, UMass was one of many busiest off-ramps within the NCAA switch portal after the 2022 season.
“It has been awesome and obviously it speaks to coach Brown that all those guys that were with him in Arizona and it’s a testament to them as well,” mentioned Martin. “A bunch of the fellows from Arizona needed to return to play their closing season right here and others like me who has much more.
“But just coming back to play for coach Brown made the transition into spring ball a lot easier. Just coming in to a brand-new team with some guys I was with last season. I think we bring a good mindset coming in to help coach Brown and everyone else in the program to turn UMass football around.”
The 6-2, 250-pound Martin performed center linebacker in highschool and on the follow squad at Arizona, however Brown is transitioning him to the robust facet of the entrance seven.
UMass performs an impartial schedule and has received only a pair of video games the final two seasons. The one profit to becoming a member of a struggling program is there are jobs to be received. Martin is in a aggressive state of affairs with two different guys however feels assured that with the correct steerage, he can get on the sphere on the SAM place.
“He is doing a good job there and he is a very physical guy,” mentioned Brown. “He can rush the passer, he can lineup over the tight end and win his battles and he is doing really well, no complaints.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com