Martinek running himself into Rutgers tailback mix

by Tom Luicci/The Star-Ledger

Friday August 22, 2008, 11:24 PM

Joe Martinek isn't particularly big or overly fast and his quickness is probably just acceptable -- not exceptional. Yet almost every time the redshirt freshman tailback has the ball in his hands, something good seems to happen.

As Rutgers broke preseason camp Friday, and with tailback hopefuls Kordell Young and Mason Robinson assigned lightened workloads because of leg fatigue, Martinek was again the tailback-du-jour.

He's still fourth in a four-player competition to replace Ray Rice -- Jourdan Brooks, despite his pass blocking issues, remains just behind Young and Robinson -- but Martinek has come from the lower reaches of the depth chart (and from defense) to make an impression.

That means he's getting a longer look and more reps with the opener against Fresno State a week from Monday -- and the tailback situation still unresolved.

"Whatever the coaches decide, that's up to them," Martinek said. "I just keep working hard doing what I can to put myself in the best position possible."

It's not as if the 6-0, 215-pound Martinek lacks the credentials to be a productive college running back.

He was New Jersey's Player of the Year in 2006 and is the state's career high school rushing leader with 7,589 yards.

But coming from Hopatcong in football-challenged Sussex County, Martinek had to prove himself all over when he arrived at Rutgers.

Even the Knights' coaching staff wasn't originally convinced that tailback was his best position, moving him to the secondary as a freshman.

"I don't spend any time thinking about where I am or what could happen," Martinek said. "Once you let those thoughts cross your mind, you might slip up. If I keep working hard, good things will come in the end. I've always believed that, and it has always worked for me."

Martinek was the team's most productive runner in Wednesday's final scrimmage, getting 37 yards on four carries. That was highlighted by a game-long 29-yard run.

His pass receiving skills are solid, and he has shown the ability to pick up the blitz and to be an effective blocking back.

"I think I did pretty well in the scrimmage," he said. "But there are always things to work on."

Coach Greg Schiano said he wasn't bothered that a tailback starter hasn't emerged from the summer-long competition, with Rutgers starting on Fresno State game preparation Saturday.

"We still have a very, very interesting competition," he said. "Where that's going to leave us, I don't know. That's going to be one that's not decided coming out of camp. So we're going to use (all of) them in certain ways to their strengths. What that is yet, I'm not sure.

"But it's not a disappointment to me (that a clear-cut starter didn't emerge). If it happened, it happened. If it doesn't, it doesn't."

Quarterback Mike Teel, a fifth-year senior, called the preseason "the hardest training camp I've been through in my tenure here."

"It's been the hardest both mentally and physically," he said. "It's been a constant push to get better. That's something that never happened before, and it's something I think in the long run is going to be extremely beneficial for us."

Schiano said he was generally pleased with the preseason.

"I thought we made progress. We were able to stay relatively healthy, which is good," he said. "We're still a long ways off from being the team I think we can be, but Sept. 1 is going to come, and we're going to have to play the best we can and see where it stacks up against the team we're playing and we'll move on."

Offensive line coach Kyle Flood was miked before yesterday's practice for a segment on the first "Inside Rutgers Football" show that will air Aug. 29 on SNY.
"If the camera adds 10 pounds, what does HD add?" Flood said.

Schiano said he was "confident" that starting left guard Kevin Haslam (ankle sprain) would be back for the opener. He also praised backup Howard Barbieri, who has replaced Haslam, for "pushing everybody."