Ben Martin 2006 recruit

[Guest SirJohn]

I was patroling the sites and saw Irish Eyes had an article on Martin. It did not say much, did not even metion ND and to get farther you needed q subscription.

 

I typed his name and found this info free, listed in Yahoo Sports. Does seem his Coach and Rick Minter are friends

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Martin a Name to Remember for 2006

 

Mike Frank - Scout.com

October 25, 2005 at 8:45am ET

The Irish currently have 19 commitments for the 2005 recruiting season and not many spots left to fill. The Irish coaching staff will soon turn their attention to junior recruiting, and one player that has already caught their eye is Cincinnati (LaSalle), Ohio defensive lineman Ben Martin.

 

 

Junior defensive end prospect Ben Martin is already considered one of the top players in the Midwest and he hasn't even finished his junior season yet. Irish Eyes spoke with Martin's coach, Tom Grippa, about his star junior prospect.

 

 

"As a freshman we knew he had a lot of potential," Grippa said of Martin. "It was his first year playing football. He's pretty green when it comes to football. He's still learning how to play the game. He's a terrific athlete on the field, but he's not a polished machine on the line of scrimmage just yet.

 

"When he started playing his sophomore year he started showing that he was going to be a blue-chip player."

 

Grippa said Martin's blessed with the one thing all true blue-chippers have-speed.

 

"His size, speed and athleticism," the LaSalle head coach said when asked what makes Martin a special player. "He's 6-5 and 225 pounds. I've never timed him, but with the kids that I had that have gone to camps, and comparing his speed to their speed, he's in the 4.5 range. He has a great vertical jump. He's just a great athlete. He's got the stuff to be special."

 

Grippa also said that the teams facing LaSalle each week also know about Martin's talent and potential and try to game-plan around him.

 

"Everybody we play; the do something," he said. "They chip him with backs or tight ends or stay away from him. They're always doing something to try to get a piece of him. He's been an impact player. Our defense has been really good this year and he's been a big part of that."

 

"His strength is that when you run away from him, he runs plays down from behind. He really uses his speed well," Grippa added.

 

What position will Martin likely be on the next level?

 

"He's a rush end as a five technique edge player," Grippa said. "His pass rushing is just OK at this point. He's not great at it yet. He will be when he can concentrate on just football. He had a really bad sprained ankle over the summer playing basketball so that's limited him a little bit, but he's still had a great year for us."

 

The great year the LaSalle head man speaks of has Martin registering 32 solo tackles, 34 assists, 13 tackles for loss, nine sacks, six quarterback hurries, four caused fumbles and six pass deflections in just eight games.

 

"He's a three-sport guy so he's never going to get really big until he gets to college," Grippa said. "He'll probably play next year at 235. He's going to play basketball and he does track. He throws the shot and disc, and there was a couple of meets where he anchored the 4 x 100 and he never lost ground when he got the baton. He's long jumped 20 feet."

 

Grippa has coached a number of D1 prospects in his coaching career, but he didn't hesitate to say that Martin clearly has the most potential of any player he's coached.

 

"I've been around here for awhile. I was the head coach at (Cincinnati) Elder from 1987 through 1996, then I went to Fairfield, which is a public school. At Elder I had three kids go to Ohio State and a bunch of kids that went to the MAC. I had a kid who went to Kentucky. I had a kid who was the starting center for Pitt. I've had Division I recruits, and I'd say that Ben has the biggest upside because of speed," he said. "As a high school player he will be one of the best high school players in America. He'll be one of the top 100 players."

 

Grippa also said plenty of college coaches agree with his assessment of his top junior prospect.

 

"I need a mailbox just for his mail," he said with a laugh. "He gets mail from everybody. The University of Cincinnati has already offered. Illinois has already offered. All the MAC schools have already offered. I would say it will likely come down to Notre Dame or Ohio State if Notre Dame offers him. I think they will. He's been to a couple of games at those schools. I know Rick Minter pretty well from coaching at Cincinnati. He actually lived over on this side of town and I'd see him out once in awhile. We like Rick."

 

 

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Updated on Tuesday, Oct 25, 2005 9:45 am EDT

 

lar

[Guest Champion10]

looks like he is one of the top juniors in ohio if not the country. That sure is a fast 40 time for such a big guy.

 

 

 

btw he is an the 07 class

[Guest SirJohn]

Yes come in duing 2007 but recruited 2006. Minter has a good 'in' in tat part of the country.

[Rockne3d 0]

big deal on Martin, 2 of his HS coaches played for ND in the 80's. Plus his coach is a big ND guy.

[Guest SirJohn]

That's about as good a pipeline as you can want. I'm no sure when they can start 'talking' on phone etc??? Would that be about August when they officially are a Senior and in School???????

[Guest Champion10]

sept 1st if there junior year.

[IrishLeopard 0]

Hear that he is a lean.....anyone know if he has an offer?

[Guest SirJohn]

Hi Irishlepoard. The above was all I could find. The other guys know more.

[Guest BG Tom]

Hello fellow ND fans,

 

 

Ben Martin has absloutely recieved a scholarship offer from ND! His coach stated it is his very first!!! I read this in an article on Devon Torrance, another outstanding potential recruit from Ohio.

[Guest SirJohn]

Hi Big Tom see OPEN>

[Rockne3d 0]

welcome to the board BG. What does the BG stand for?

[Guest BG Tom]

BLUE and GOLD brother!!!!!

[Guest BG Tom]

Thanks for the welcome! Class can always be found in other Domers! Brief background... I have been a Notre Dame fan since birth..1977 I have alumni in the family and my wife graduated from St. Mary's in '03. We make the trip up to 'The Bend' numerous x a year. I bleed Blue and Gold all year round hence the BG. I am excited to converse with fellow Domers and look forward to talking with you all! I cover the Youngstown area pretty exclusively as far as high school football goes and try to stay abreast of whos going where so if you guys have any questions about any prospects around this area I would be more than happy to dig around and get you answers.

 

Tom

[Rockne3d 0]

good to have ya BG.

[IrishLeopard 0]

For anyone interested, Scout.com is free this weekend

[Guest SirJohn]

Thanks for the news Irishleo

[chirodomer 47]

Welcome BG! Looks like this was a good find a LONG time ago!

 

 

 

 

 

<-------ON Notre Dame weight program!

[theshark08 0]

I was gonna say Chiro you look pretty buff.

[foreverirish34 11]

have you been working out with barry bonds chiro?

[chirodomer 47]

Why, Yes, YES, I have been working out with Barry Bonmds and I have the SAME doctor! Makes your joints feel great. I'm really 75 years old with the Vitality of a 16 year old!