The Polish Irishman
Just your hero
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According to C-Mart, he will might miss the first 5 games of this season.
Glad to hear he's tearing it up. I thought he wasn't supposed to be playing yet?
Guys,
There is not one thing we here can do about his decision. He is a young man like we all were at one time. He is getting enormous attention and being told that ND is headed downhill and CW out of a job. IF the team performs well the remainder of the season, all this talk will be moot and he will be IRISH.
Guys, don't worry, he is 100% Irish unless there is a coaching change. He said crazy things happen and that is why he took the phone call. It doesn't mean he is jumping ship for the heck of it.
get rid of him.......
Haha, took me a second Irishlew. I think we all know he's one of the best DE's out there.

Martin originally planned to transfer to The Hun School (Princeton, N.J.) in order to enroll early at Notre Dame because Bishop O'Dowd doesn't have an early enrollment policy. When The Hun School didn't offer a full scholarship and Martin decided he wasn't going to enroll early, moving to Colorado with Shewl was a better option for the four-star recruit.
Martin also is keeping his options open about the recruiting process.
"I had Notre Dame picked as my commitment, but there's also other schools that I keep in contact with," said the 6-foot-5, 240-pound Martin, who has gained about 30 pounds since his sophomore season.
Schools like California, Tennessee, maybe Florida, possibly USC and one or two other schools.
He hasn't decommitted; he's just leaving his options open. Martin will take his official visit to Notre Dame on Oct. 17 when the Fighting Irish host USC, and Martin says he hopes the visit will reassure him of his decision.
"I just want to see a football team that's on the way to winning and that's in the right direction, and not one that's sitting there still on the hoofs trying to struggle just to get games where they should win," Martin said.
We tracked down ESPNU 150 defensive end Chris Martin (Aurora, Colo./Grandview) in Aurora, Colo., on Thursday night and were able to get a good in-person game evaluation to supplement our junior film and camp assessments. Martin played both end and outside linebacker in Grandview's one-sided victory versus Smoky Hill. His showing helped support our college projection in regard to his future position in South Bend.
On the hoof
Martin was literally head and shoulders above his inferior competition from a physical standpoint. It did look like he leaned out his frame -- he appeared to be more tapered through the waist -- since the last time we saw him participating at ESPN's Gridiron Kings in July. His large frame is certainly impressive; he looks like a prototypical 3-4 outside 'backer with his great height and long, well-defined body (250 pounds). His rangy build actually hints of continued growth, and we would not be surprised if this guy ends up at 6-foot-7 and right around the 270-pound range in college. Martin has a lot of growth left. He showed Thursday night that he could carry his weight well.
Playing strengths
Martin's blend of size, straight-line speed and athleticism were impressive. He made plays sideline-to-sideline on defense with good range and an intense motor. Martin was given the green light to blitz most of the night at outside linebacker and consistently applied pressure on the quarterback and blew up the mesh. He actually came close to blocking a couple of kicks on special teams, as well. On Smoky Hill's first drive, it tried to outflank the rangy end. But he tracked down the ball-carrier on the perimeter with his long wingspan and good acceleration, stripped the ball and recovered it for a touchdown.
At defensive end, Martin showed he could stalemate and jolt blockers back at the point of attack (when he played with good leverage) and did a really nice job chasing plays down from the backside. He was very physical throughout the night, utilizing his superior strength to occasionally toss would-be blockers aside and punish ball-carriers as a tackler. I saw some short-area power and explosiveness closing on the football that was missing at times last season as a junior. In terms of productivity, Martin lit up the stat sheet Thursday night, but his competition was marginal.
Playing weaknesses
Martin still showed stiffness when trying to redirect in space. He overran the cutback on a few occasions and had difficulty breaking down sharply in the open field as an outside linebacker. He displayed some wasted motion when changing direction and turning to run on pursuit. Martin would benefit from playing with more knee bend and trying to improve his flexibility before college. He is very straight-lined, and while he showed good range for his size pursuing sideline-to-sideline, he tended to build speed and did not show good initial burst. Even when employed at end he lacked explosive get-off, tended to pop up and had difficulty bending tight down the line of scrimmage.
Overall
Martin certainly has awesome size, freakish measurables and flashed great physical tools for a program to develop at the next level. He was very active but relied on his superior size and mobility more than football skill set. His football skills and ability between the white lines have not yet matched his striking measurables on paper. He is raw in technique as a pass-rusher and never showed great functional strength, when bull rushing through smaller blockers, or fluid outside moves. Even as a run-supporting linebacker, he did not consistently shed or utilize hand technique and as a result was cut off by much smaller linemen. Martin confirmed to us on Thursday night that he is a college end or possibly a 3-4 outside linebacker. We also feel that although he is impressive in stature and athleticism, Martin will need some time do develop as a college positional prospect and add bulk to anchor the run. In our eyes, he's not an immediate impact, five-star type of prospect at the moment.
Look for Martin to rise a few spots in our next ESPNU 150 rankings based on the great natural tools he has to mold up and the added versatility we saw.
this is a bit disturbing. i realize if we continue to win and the coaching situation remains stable he is likely to stay firmly committed, but why commit if you're going to "leave options open"? granted, it's a life decision for the kid and he has to do what is best for him, but if he got caught up in the moment last year around signing day then come clean, take down the verbal and explore all options. don't string us along like others have done in the past. ahhh, post close game angst still remains!
DE Chris Martin (Aurora, Colo./Grandview)
Martin has the height and athleticism college coaches look for in a defensive end/outside linebacker. He is quick, agile and his long arms are a real asset when keeping blockers off his body and rushing the passer. He is especially productive in limited space and has the frame to add more bulk, which would make him an ideal defensive end at the collegiate level. Martin is currently committed to Notre Dame, but is still keeping his options open and is being courted heavily by USC. It wouldn't be a shock to see this highly sought after defensive standout jump ship and head to Los Angeles instead of South Bend.