PISCATAWAY — Joe Martinek knows how close he is to becoming the first Scarlet Knight to surpass 1,000 rushing since Ray Rice in 2007.
The sophomore tailback stands a mere 77 yards away from joining Rice and Terrell Willis as the only players in the 140-year history of the program to do so.
The last time Martinek was so near a personal milestone, he was on the verge of becoming the leading rusher in the history of New Jersey high school football.
That’s no small feat.
“I didn’t know until everyone was chanting two more yards,” Martinek said of his Hopatcong High School’s game against Kittatinny. “That was the only play I knew I was close.”
Martinek entered the game needing 134 yards to surpass Kenny Cattouse’s state rushing record of 6,720 yards.
He did that and more, blowing the record away during his 2,081-yard senior season en route to ending his high school career with a whopping 7,589 yards.
“There was actually a penalty on the play,” Martinek recalled. “It was like a 20-yard run and no one knew what the call was, but it was a facemask, so we declined it and it counted, and then they stopped the game.
“It was great. They brought my family onto the field, my friends were there. It was awesome.”
Family and friends will be in attendance again as Martinek – the Rutgers football team’s feature back – gets the chance to hit 1,000 against Central Florida’s fourth-ranked rushing defense in Saturday’s St. Petersburg Bowl.
While officials certainly will not stop a Bowl game for such a milestone, at least Martinek can ask for the game ball.
“I think that would be a career highlight from him,” senior center Ryan Blaszczyk said. “He really hasn’t talked about it all season, but as an offensive line we see how close he’s getting. It would be great for us to get us over 1,000.”
But it won’t be easy.
Martinek only amassed 194 yards over the final three games in the regular season and Rutgers relied heavily on true freshman Mohamed Sanu in the wildcat offense to buoy the ground attack.
“I think it’s tougher than people realize,” Martinek said. “The Big East is essentially a defensive conference. It’s a major accomplishment, and if I get it, it will be really exciting and I will be proud that I was able to do it.”
On top of that, Central Florida’s Knights rank behind only Alabama, Texas and Texas Christian — the top three teams in the country — in rush defense.
“They’re very challenging,” said Rutgers coach Greg Schiano after Saturday morning’s practice. “It’s the fourth-ranked rush defense in the country. There would probably only be three other bigger challenges. We always are (determined to run the ball).”
Blaszczyk and Martinek echoed the importance of establishing the run early, particularly if RU’s leading receiver Tim Brown is not full-go with a persistent injury to his left ankle.
If UCF cannot stack the box and tune all its attention to Martinek and Sanu out of the backfield, Rutgers could be in for a long day.
“Their front seven is stellar, probably one of the best we will play all season,” Blaszczyk said. “Their defensive line has tackles for loss all over the place.”
But the 1,000-yard milestone – and a Rutgers Bowl victory for the fourth consecutive season – is well within reach.
It’s almost fitting that sitting just 77 yards away from the landmark, Martinek averages 76.9 yards per game on the season.
Should he get there, it would undoubtedly be one of the highlights of the New Jersey high school’s all-time leading rusher’s career.
“It would definitely be up there in the top two,” Martinek said. “Getting the rushing record and then getting 1,000 yards in my first year starting would probably be one of my greatest moments and something I will always remember.”
The Knights got a verbal commitment yesterday from Tejay Johnson, a two-way standout from Egg Harbor Township who will play wide receiver at Rutgers.