Troy University Athletics
Photo by: Joey Meredith
Carlton Martial Impressive on National Stage
10/5/2021 9:43:00 AM | Football
By his own All-American standards, Troy linebacker Carlton Martial had a typical game in Saturday's 23-14 loss at South Carolina.
Martial made five tackles, including one behind the line of scrimmage, and broke up a pass. That's what the stat sheet says. Everyone else says so much more about the junior from Mobile, who made his 37th consecutive start for the Trojans.
In fact, South Carolina quarterback Luke Doty immediately sought out Martial for a quick word after the game.
"He told me I'm a helluva player, and he hopes we go on and win the Sun Belt," Martial said after the game.
During the contest, SEC Network game analyst Matt Stinchcomb kept noticing Martial's sideline-to-sideline effort and tackling in space. His presence allowed the players around him to make plays. Fellow linebacker K.J. Robertson led Troy with nine tackles.
Of course, Martial was being talked about even before the game.
"Shane Beamer, their head coach who is a good friend of mine, mentioned him right out of the gate before the game," Trojan head coach Chip Lindsey said. "Carlton is a guy that you've got to account for him. He plays with great effort, and he's obviously all over the field."
All of which comes as zero surprise to the Trojans, who recognize Martial as a consistent, constant force on defense.
Asked about Martial's performance Saturday, Robertson replied, "I pretty much saw what we see every week.
"That's my big little brother. He's a great leader, plays with relentless effort. He's coming and attacking every single week. I'm glad he's on my team. I don't have to scheme against him."
It's still fun how the diminutive (5-foot-9, 210 pounds) Martial is still surprising opponents, considering how long he's contributed.
The former walk-on from McGill-Toolen came into the game leading the nation with 8.9 tackles per game in his career. He moved into fifth place in Troy history with 353 career tackles.
He also moved into second place on the school's all-time list and sixth place in Sun Belt history with 42½ career tackles for loss on Saturday.
"Every week he makes plays, doesn't he," Lindsey asked without need of an answer.
Martial gets just a big thrill out of seeing teammates succeed as making a big play himself.
"KJ had an amazing game," the linebacker said. "Richard Jibunor, Javon Solomon, that's just to name a few. I'm really proud of our defense.
He said he was proud of the entire team for rebounding from a disappointing performance at ULM the week before.
"I know the outcome wasn't what we wanted, but I'm so proud of my team for bouncing back from last week," he said. "We put it all out there on the field, so I'm happy we did that."
In that big-time atmosphere – and Lindsey noted it's been since the Missouri game in 2019 that Troy faced anything even approaching Saturday's environment – Martial seemed to thrive.
"It was different, of course; the fans just brought me more energy," he said. "I love playing in front of a big crowd. It's a nice feeling."
The Trojans return home for the first time since Sept. 11 this Saturday when Georgia Southern visits The Vet for a 6 p.m. kickoff.
Lindsey said it was Martial who told his teammates in the locker room to build off the improvement they showed Saturday.
"Carlton said to be ready to go to work tomorrow (Sunday) – that we're back in conference," the coach said.
"We're going to grow every single week," Martial said. "That's all we can do, is learn from our mistakes and bounce back next week. I believe we'll be locked and loaded for Georgia Southern."
Martial made five tackles, including one behind the line of scrimmage, and broke up a pass. That's what the stat sheet says. Everyone else says so much more about the junior from Mobile, who made his 37th consecutive start for the Trojans.
In fact, South Carolina quarterback Luke Doty immediately sought out Martial for a quick word after the game.
"He told me I'm a helluva player, and he hopes we go on and win the Sun Belt," Martial said after the game.
During the contest, SEC Network game analyst Matt Stinchcomb kept noticing Martial's sideline-to-sideline effort and tackling in space. His presence allowed the players around him to make plays. Fellow linebacker K.J. Robertson led Troy with nine tackles.
Of course, Martial was being talked about even before the game.
"Shane Beamer, their head coach who is a good friend of mine, mentioned him right out of the gate before the game," Trojan head coach Chip Lindsey said. "Carlton is a guy that you've got to account for him. He plays with great effort, and he's obviously all over the field."
All of which comes as zero surprise to the Trojans, who recognize Martial as a consistent, constant force on defense.
Asked about Martial's performance Saturday, Robertson replied, "I pretty much saw what we see every week.
"That's my big little brother. He's a great leader, plays with relentless effort. He's coming and attacking every single week. I'm glad he's on my team. I don't have to scheme against him."
It's still fun how the diminutive (5-foot-9, 210 pounds) Martial is still surprising opponents, considering how long he's contributed.
The former walk-on from McGill-Toolen came into the game leading the nation with 8.9 tackles per game in his career. He moved into fifth place in Troy history with 353 career tackles.
He also moved into second place on the school's all-time list and sixth place in Sun Belt history with 42½ career tackles for loss on Saturday.
"Every week he makes plays, doesn't he," Lindsey asked without need of an answer.
Martial gets just a big thrill out of seeing teammates succeed as making a big play himself.
"KJ had an amazing game," the linebacker said. "Richard Jibunor, Javon Solomon, that's just to name a few. I'm really proud of our defense.
He said he was proud of the entire team for rebounding from a disappointing performance at ULM the week before.
"I know the outcome wasn't what we wanted, but I'm so proud of my team for bouncing back from last week," he said. "We put it all out there on the field, so I'm happy we did that."
In that big-time atmosphere – and Lindsey noted it's been since the Missouri game in 2019 that Troy faced anything even approaching Saturday's environment – Martial seemed to thrive.
"It was different, of course; the fans just brought me more energy," he said. "I love playing in front of a big crowd. It's a nice feeling."
The Trojans return home for the first time since Sept. 11 this Saturday when Georgia Southern visits The Vet for a 6 p.m. kickoff.
Lindsey said it was Martial who told his teammates in the locker room to build off the improvement they showed Saturday.
"Carlton said to be ready to go to work tomorrow (Sunday) – that we're back in conference," the coach said.
"We're going to grow every single week," Martial said. "That's all we can do, is learn from our mistakes and bounce back next week. I believe we'll be locked and loaded for Georgia Southern."
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