NFF National Scholar-Athletes
Marcus Martin, DE – Slippery Rock University (Pa.)
Safety Management – 3.56 GPA
Head Coach: Shawn Lutz | Athletics Director: Paul Lueken
Faculty Athletics Representative: Joanne Leight
Arguably one of the most decorated players in Division II history, Marcus Martin is the all-time NCAA record holder for career sacks among all divisions of play. Tackling academia with the same rigor, he becomes the first NFF National Scholar-Athlete in Slippery Rock annals.
On pace to graduate this December with a 3.56 GPA in safety management and a minor in business administration, Martin twice earned Academic All-America honors, garnering First Team accolades last season. A two-time First Team Academic All-District selection, he has received the Division II ADA Academic Achievement Award each year of his career. A native of West Mifflin, Pa., Martin is a four-time PSAC Scholar-Athlete and a five-time member of the Slippery Rock Dean’s List.
Martin entered his senior season already owning PSAC and school records for career sacks (54.5) and tackles for loss (90.5), and he hasn’t lost any steam in 2017. He currently leads the nation with 24.5 tackles for loss and 14 sacks, and he is the only active player listed in the top 10 of both career categories in Division II history. Martin had one of the best games of his career against Clarion (Pa.) on Oct. 28, breaking Slippery Rock single-game records for sacks and tackles for loss on the way to becoming the new NCAA record holder in career sacks. He finished that game with 4.5 sacks, 6.5 tackles for loss, a forced fumble and a 74-yard fumble return for a touchdown, which marked his first career score.
Martin made an immediate impact at Slippery Rock, garnering Third Team All-America accolades as a freshman en route to being named the Don Hansen Football Gazette National Freshman of the Year. He followed up his rookie campaign with consecutive First Team All-America performances, including consensus honors as a junior. A two-time PSAC West Defensive Player of the Year and three-time First Team All-PSAC selection, the team captain led The Rock to back-to-back conference titles and Division II playoff appearances, reaching the quarterfinals in 2015. Martin holds the top two single-season sack performances in school history and was a three-time finalist for the Chris Harris Award as the small college defensive player of the year.
Martin has participated in the Read Across America program with local elementary schools the last three years and has helped at youth football camps on campus and in surrounding areas. He also volunteers each summer at the Boys and Girls Club in his hometown.
All stats as of Nov. 1, 2017.
