Interview: 5-Star Virginia P Tommy Martin Angling Colleges His Way

Written by Ryan Wright

Twitter: @HogManInLA

Very few times in the high school recruiting world punter, kicker, and athlete all come together without a snide comment or laced into a pun of some sort, but Hickory High School’s Tommy Martin is a rare breed.

Martin has been playing against Virginia 5A varsity competition since his freshman season. Initially called upon to handle special teams duties on punts, kickoffs, and field goals, Martin flexed enough of his overall athleticism earning time on the field as a wide receiver and safety in addition to his kicking duties. The 6-0, 185 pound, senior has no misconceptions about playing Division-I football on offense or on defense, even though he has 4.5 speed in the 40-yard dash, but as a punter and kickoff specialist – he’s one of the best in the nation in the 2017 class.

From the soccer field to the gridiron, Martin has taken his strong leg parlaying that into success that has already begun to pay off in scholarship offers. The raw ability has been morphed into a five-star talent with the help of local coaches and national kicking guru Chris Sailer. Sailer, the go-to guy for college coaches needing third phase specialists to complete their recruiting classes, has Martin ranked the No. 3 punter in the nation. The ranking and honor is nothing to joke about with Sailer ranking 133 punters from across the nation out of the 2017 class after exhaustive off-season camps from sea to shining sea.

Martin ended his junior campaign 2 of 2 on field goals with a long of 40 yards and carried a 40.2 yard per punt average with 12 of 32 punts downed inside the 20 yard line.

In a Recruiting News Guru exclusive interview, I sat down with Martin going over his off-season workouts, camp circuit, and received a recruiting news update.

Interview

Tommy, how long have you been handling special team duties for the Hawks?

“Since my freshman season.”

As a punter, what are some of the things you’ve been working on this off-season?

“I’ve been working a lot on my form and consistency since about the second week in April. I’ve been doing a lot of lower body workouts to strengthen my legs. That’s been coming a long – I’ve been training a lot. I’ve been working on being as accurate as possible, repeating my process and trusting my process.”

What are some of the things you do well as a punter?

“I’ve been working on my hang time and directional punting, colleges like that. I have gotten good at that.”

What is your longest punt ever?

“At a Chris Sailer camp in Las Vegas, 74 yards before it touched the ground.”

Wow. That’s crazy. What are some of the averages you’ve been trying to hit this summer?

“A good punt for me has been around 53 yards with a 5.3 hang time.”

What about with your kickoffs, what are your strengths in that phase?

“My junior season I averaged 68 yards a kickoff with an 81 percent touchback rate. This summer I’ve been averaging 86 yards with a 4.1 hang time, which is good for me.”

You played safety and wide receiver last year, right?

“Yes sir.”

You started too, right?

“Yes sir. This year I will tone it down to focus on kicking and punting.”

How did your season go playing offense and defense?

“It went well. Our last game of the season we played against one of our rivals. I had a pick-six, two picks in the game, and I scored on a 55-yard touchdown pass. That was my best game of the season.”

That’s a terrific game for anyone and everyone.

“Thank you.”

Will you still get time in on offense and defense this year even though you are toning it down?

“I will. Coach said he will use me as necessary. I’ll get reps in to help the team out as much as possible.”

What honors did you earn at the end of your junior season?

“I was second team All-State as a punter, first team All-City, All-Region, and All-Tidewater as well.”

What goals have you set for yourself going into your senior year?

“With my kickoffs I want to be over 90 percent on touchbacks. I want to be 100 percent on my field goals and PATs, and keep a 45-yard per punt average. Finding a college that will be like home is a goal for me as well.”

You did a lot of work this off-season attending camps to help draw recruiting attention. Which camps did you attend?

“I went to a few Chris Sailer camps. I went to his camp in North Carolina, the IMG Top 12 Elite in Florida, and one of his camps in Vegas back in February.”

Which camp was your best?

“Vegas. I went in and punted really well. On the second day I punted in the finals against Tucker Day and Aiden Bailey (JUCO). I was the punt champion at Vegas.”

What about college camps, which camps did you attend?

“I went to five or six. I went to Alabama in June, a Miami satellite camp, and a JMU (James Madison) camp. JMU offered me after the camp. I also went to a UVA (Virginia) and UNC (North Carolina) camp.”

Which college camp did you turn in your best performance?

“I’d say at Alabama. I punted really well there.”

You have an offer from JMU, what other schools have offered you?

“Mercer.”

Which schools are showing interest in you right now?

“V-Tech (Virginia Tech) is showing the most interest. I spoke with them yesterday. UNC is showing interest too.”

Did you take any unofficial visits this off-season?

“I went to Virginia.”

How did that visit go?

“That was a good visit. It went really well. I went with my dad. We walked around the campus and saw all the facilities. It is close to home too.”

Do you have any upcoming visits planned?

“We are going to V-Tech’s game against BC (Boston College). I’m planning on going to a few V-Tech games, UNC, and JMU games if possible.”

How does Hickory look going into the season?

“This year we are doing really well. This summer I was not there as much. When I got there for our first day of practices, they looked really good. They went to a lot of 7v7 tournaments this summer. We had our first scrimmage Thursday night, one of our players had four touchdowns. We have a lot of seniors. We’ll be pretty good this year.”

Which games on the schedule are you guys pumped to play this year?

“We have a lot of great games this year. We have our rival Great Bridge (Nov. 4) at the end of the season. The student sections get crazy during that game. We play Grassfield (Sept. 16), Western Branch (Oct. 28), and Oscar Smith (Sept. 30) this year too. All of those teams are really-really good.”

Tommy, thanks for your time today and good luck with the 2016 season.

“Thank you.”

Photo credit: Martin family; Tommy Martin at JMU

Photo credit: Martin family; Tommy Martin with Chris Sailer

Photo credit: Martin family; Tommy Martin at Virginia Tech