His dream was to play D-1 football. Now, a Modesto JC linebacker has achieved it.
Everything seemed to be right.
After rushing for over 2,000 yards as a senior at Orestimba in 2015, Austin Martins signed with Linfield College in Oregon.
The coaches told him he would come in and be an impact guy right away.
“When I got to Linfield, there were 12 running backs and I barely saw the field during fall camp,” Martins said. “From always being a starter since I started playing the game of football to now watching from the sidelines, it was tough. I didn’t want to give up yet.”
Martins left Linfield after a couple of seasons and transferred to Modesto Junior College, where he switched positions and played for linebacker for the Pirates in 2018.
Martins signed with Valparaiso University on Sunday, which competes in NCAA Division I FCS.
“My dream since I was a kid was to be a D1 football player and MJC made that happen,” Martins said.
Martins led MJC in tackles (58), tackles for a loss (17.5), and sacks (nine) and was named the Golden State Bowl’s Most Valuable Player after the Pirates beat the City College of San Francisco on Dec. 1.
But, despite the success, Martins’ recruiting wasn’t going how he would have liked.
Colleges “loved” his film, he said, but didn’t want to take a chance on him because of his size (5-foot-10).
“I had a lot of D2 offers and a couple of D1 walk-on opportunities that would fall through,” he said.
Then, in late April, Valparaiso offered him a scholarship.
He committed to the Crusaders on May 20 before signing a few days ago.
“Everyone will have to earn the chance to play,” Martins said. “ I choose Valpo because of what they are building. They haven’t been the best program in that conference (Pioneer League), that isn’t a secret, but I believe there are big things coming.”
Martins said he will be studying civil engineering at the Indiana school.
Even though he will be 2,000 miles away, Martins said MJC will always “hold” a special place in his heart.
“MJC made me fall in love with the sport of football all over again,” he said. “I started to lose love for the sport but MJC brought it all back.”
This story was originally published June 4, 2019 at 1:29 PM.
