"And in the role of Donald Brown..."

by Brendan Prunty/The Star-Ledger

Wednesday October 15, 2008, 6:22 PM

In only his first true season at Rutgers, Joe Martinek is the nation's leading rusher.

Well, for this week anyway.

"Coach said that me and him are very similar," Martinek said Wednesday after practice. "He said, he's (like) me, but a couple of years older. I watched some film on him. We kind of do the same things, so it's a good fit."

This week in practice, Martinek is playing the role of Connecticut running back Donald Brown, who is leading the nation in rushing, on the scout team.

"He's a very good back," he said. "He runs hard, he's always fighting for that extra yard. I'm just trying to get every little detail I can about him."

The redshirt freshman from Hopatcong is doing his best this week in practice to make sure that the Rutgers defense knows Brown's moves inside and out. Martinek says that he considers the job to be a compliment. To have head coach Greg Schiano liken him to the leading rusher in the country.

"Oh definitely," Martinek said. "To be one of the three or four top rushers in the nation? ... I remember last year, I had to be (former West Virginia RB) Steve Slaton. That was a week I was looking forward to. His (Brown's) stats tell you -- he's one of the best backs in the nation."

Being at the top in the rushing category is not unfamiliar ground for Martinek. His 7,589 rushing yards for Hopatcong High, is still the all-time state record. Martinek is all business about his role as Brown. But it has to feel good to be the nation's leading rusher, right -- if only for a week?

"Hopefully, it'll be real one day," Martinek said with a laugh.