It might take him a while to get going, but once sophomore Joe Martinek gets on track, he’s nearly impossible to derail.
As the defense wears down throughout the game, Martinek starts to hit his stride with his ability to close out games for the Rutgers football team.
“I can feel myself getting stronger as the game goes on,” Martinek said. “That’s a tribute to the coaches who keep telling us to stay in the moment, stay in the game and not lose focus. It also goes to my line because the linemen are doing the same thing. They keep pounding all game and towards the end is where we start to break some.”
Martinek averages 5.3 yards per carry this season, but get him to the fourth quarter and that average spikes to 9.84 on 25 attempts.
Martinek broke two touchdown runs and 130 yards on 10 carries in the fourth quarter against Maryland this season, and he ran for 79 yards and a touchdown on six touches last week against Army.
“We have to finish things. I thought what Joe did a very good job of all night is that he was not easy to tackle,” said head coach Greg Schiano after the win over Army. “He was harder to tackle than he has been in the past. I think he improved this game, without a doubt. I thought he played his best game against a very good defense — [the] 17th ranked defense in the nation. He was hard to get on the ground. I was impressed by his effort.”
Martinek’s 573 yards and seven touchdowns through just seven games this season both mark the highest single-season totals since Ray Rice’s magical 2,012-yard, 24-touchdown season in 2007.
Martinek’s closing ability, mixed with his strong running style, are starting to remind other Scarlet Knights of what Rice used to do on the Banks.
“Joe definitely runs hard,” said junior tailback Kordell Young, who played with both Rice and Martinek. “I think that from hearing from the defensive players from our team, that he definitely reminds them a lot of Ray because of his power. He might even be stronger.”
Senior center Ryan Blaszczyk also got the chance to play with Rice before the running back joined the Baltimore Ravens. Martinek’s toughness is what stood out to him as similar to Rice’s.
“Joe’s a tough runner like Ray was,” Blaszczyk said. “He puts his head down and he can make people miss. He’s very deceptive and he’s a very strong kid. Not many people know that, but they’re starting to figure it out now in the fourth quarter of games.”
When told that Blaszczyk and Young see him as comparable to Rice, the Hopatcong, N.J., native simply smiled and said he has a long way to go.
“I try to take all of the lessons he taught me and all of the things he showed me,” Martinek said. “He’s doing great things, so why wouldn’t I try to learn from him?”
True freshman quarterback Tom Savage never had a chance to give the ball to Rice, but he said Martinek is exactly what he needs behind him.
As much as he would like to, Savage said he cannot pass every time, and he is comforted by Martinek and the other running backs because he knows he can trust them.
“It’s phenomenal to have someone like that on your team because he just wears out defenses and he has a great ability to break tackles,” Savage said. “Sometimes when I think the play’s over, and he’s still going and getting more yards and more yards. He’s a ball player.
“With the talented running backs that we have, especially with him, he just pounds the ball and definitely manages the game.”
The primary difference between Rice and Martinek — other than their obvious differences in physical appearance — is how they got to Rutgers.
Rice almost did not come to Rutgers, but he and fellow former Knight Courtney Greene both de-committed from Syracuse late in the recruiting process after Greg Robinson took over as head coach.
Once Rice got to Piscataway, however, he jumped right into the fire and ran for 1,120 yards as a true freshman.
It wasn’t that simple for Martinek — New Jersey high schools’ all-time leading rusher — as he started out as a defensive back before eventually getting a shot on the scout team and working his way up.
“He’s been my roommate since I got here,” said sophomore guard Caleb Ruch. “I’ve watched him start on defense, play scout team running back behind me, and now he’s starting and getting 100-plus yards every game, and it’s just nice watching him.”
The other difference is attitude. The ever-vocal Rice was impossible to miss on campus and was certainly on a first-name basis with the spotlight.
Martinek, however, prefers to stay low-key.
“He’s a really humble guy. He never talks about himself,” Ruch said. “I’ll yell out ‘You Jersey Joe, you’re the man’ when we’re on a bus or something together and he just won’t respond. He’s a really great guy. He works hard and he’s just ... ‘Jersey Joe.’”