Sept. 19, 2002
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - The perception is that they lead a lonely life. They don't go through regular drills in practice and spend most of their time during games pacing the sideline largely ignored - particularly as a tight game winds down and the team's fate may rest on his foot.
But in the case of Western Kentucky University's Peter Martinez, perception is not necessarily reality.
For starters, he has been voted team captain (twice, no less). Throw in the fact that he has risen from obscurity when first arriving on campus into one of the Hilltoppers' most prolific kickers, and it's easy to see how he could win over his teammates.
"The easiest way to stay in the group is to be successful," he says. "It's hard not to like a guy that produces."
And Martinez has produced since first setting foot on the field as a sophomore in the 2000 season. In his collegiate debut, the 6-foot-2, 180-pound native of Nashville, Tenn., set a school game record with 15 points by kicking in a 71-0 victory over Tennessee-Martin. He went on to add to his record-breaking performance with 17 field goals and 49 extra points to become the first kicker in school history to score 100 points in a season - Martinez was selected first-team all-Ohio Valley Conference and second-team All-America for his efforts.
He followed up that remarkable year with 14 field goals and 76 points in 2001, earning second-team all-Gateway Football Conference honors, and has hit all three of his field-goal attempts this season.
For all those accomplishments Martinez is a consummate team player, even if it doesn't appear that way when he's off by himself during the contest. "The honors don't mean much if we're not winning games," he comments. "If we don't score, if the offense doesn't get down the field, I can't do anything. And if the defense doesn't hold and get us good field position, that keeps me out of the picture too."
Entering Saturday's 5:30 p.m. (CDT) kickoff against 11th-ranked Youngstown State, Martinez ranks second all-time with 34 field goals, and is third with 87 extra points and 189 points by kicking - with 11 more points this season he will become just the sixth player, and third kicker, to score 200 points in a career. To what does he attribute his success at Western?
"You can't get real involved in the emotional aspect of the game," says Martinez. "It's all about your mindset, staying focused. I try to stay calm before going out there, but sometimes it can be hard depending on the impact that kick makes on the game."
"There are so many emotional ups and downs during a game that you have to stay away from that to a certain extent," he says. "When you look at a game, we only get three to five chances to contribute - you have to make the most of every opportunity."
Martinez has handled the pressures of the job, even though he admits that he was extremely nervous prior to the start of the UT Martin contest. "I can remember before the first kickoff I could barely set the ball on the tee because my hands were shaking so bad," he recalls.
In the eyes of Western head coach Jack Harbaugh, the pressure that is placed on kickers is unfair.
"Where I've evolved in my philosophy is even if it's a game-winning kick, a key punt or crucial long snap, it is just one play in a three-hour game," he says. "Lots of plays put a team in that position near the end of the game, one shouldn't look at it any differently.
"When they make it, kickers get way too much credit, and when they miss they get way too much blame - I guess that's just the way it works."
Success was not something Hilltopper fans or Harbaugh knew they could expect from Martinez. He arrived on the Hill an unrecruited player out of Hillwood High School, sat out as a redshirt in 1998 and did not see time as a freshman in '99. He sat behind former All-America Jeff Poisel, who ended his four-year career in 1999 with 265 points, the most ever by a Western kicker.
"Their situations were completely different," Harbaugh recalls. "We recruited Jeff to come in and kick as a freshman. Peter showed up out of Nashville, and I'm not sure if anyone knew who he was. But we saw he had potential, and he has worked his way to a partial and then full scholarship."
Martinez admits that he wasn't ready to kick at the collegiate level when he first enrolled in school, and took advantage of playing behind Poisel in '99 to "get the gist of how everything runs and what was expected of me."
For years prior to his success with the Toppers, this was a scenario that Martinez didn't see either. "Soccer was always my favorite sport," he says. "The only reason that I came out to play football was because my best friend dragged me out my sophomore year. I guess the rest is history."
Not only was Martinez an all-metro and all-region kicker at HHS, but he also played wide receiver and free safety. And, he was a three-time all-district selection on the soccer field, where he once scored two goals to lead Hillwood to its first-ever victory over Montgomery Bell Academy.
According to Harbaugh, the role of the kicker has changed over the years in football. "Back in the old days, kickers were players too," he says. "You had guys like Lou Groza, who played on the offensive line, because the substitution rules were not as liberal as they are now. When they started bringing in specialists there was a mindset that kickers weren't football players, but that they were soccer players. Some even had trouble speaking English!
"But now, kickers have become an integral part of college and pro teams, and their teammates realize that they are a valuable asset to the club."
And thus Martinez finds himself in a leadership role as his Western career comes to a close. How does he fulfill that role when he isn't on the field for every snap?
"I try to do the right thing on and off the field," Martinez comments. "Lots of times, it comes off the field - when I see someone who needs help and guidance, I try to help steer them in the right direction. Even if it's about class or a social situation, we need to keep everyone on the same page."
Martinez hopes that there may be an opportunity to kick professionally after graduating in May, and it's one that may arise in listening to Harbaugh. "Peter is every bit as good and competitive a kicker as we've had at Western," he says. "When John (Harbaugh, the Philadelphia Eagles' special teams coach) came in last spring to watch practice, he felt Peter has enough of a leg to compete for a position in the NFL."
Which would be all that Martinez could ask for. "I don't know if I can play after graduation, but I sure would like to give it a shot. You can't beat getting paid to play football as a job."
Whether he is working in the professional football ranks or in golf - Martinez is an agriculture major who has worked for a course in the summer - one thing he sees in his future is a return to another interest of his, fishing. An activity that he participated in when younger, Martinez claims, "I can't wait to get a job and have some money so that I can go out, buy a boat and get out on the water."
When one looks down from the stands this afternoon and sees Martinez wandering on his own, remember that it's not as bad as it appears to be for him at that moment.
- WKU -
