Troy University Athletics
Carlton Martial Named to PFF Preseason All-America Team
6/30/2021 2:11:00 PM | Football
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TROY, Ala. – Already named the No. 3 returning linebacker in the country by Pro Football Focus, the industry leader announced Wednesday that Troy junior linebacker Carlton Martial has been named to its Preseason All-America Second Team. Martial led the country in tackles last season and his combined tackle total for the 2019 and 2020 seasons are the most in the country.
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A native of Mobile, Ala., Martial, who checks in at 5-foot-9, recorded 113 tackles in 2020 and has 239 tackles since the start of the 2019 season. He finished 2020 with 10.0 tackles for loss and was one of just nine players nationally to rank in the top 50 in both tackles and tackles for loss following the regular season. Martial broke up a trio of passes and intercepted Coastal Carolina's Grayson McCall (one of just two on the year) to set up a late go-ahead score for the Trojans in the season finale.
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In 2019, he was named to the PFF All-America Second Team and became just the 12th player and first underclassman in the last 20 years at the FBS level to finish a season with at least 100 tackles, 15 tackles for loss and three interceptions. He closed the year with 126 tackles, the most by a Troy player since 2000, and 18.5 tackles for loss, the fifth most in a season in Troy history, and three picks. Martial was the only player in the country to rank in the top eight nationally in tackles (10.5) and tackles for loss per game (1.54).
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Martial has twice been named to the All-Sun Belt First Team and was a semifinalist for the Burlsworth Trophy in 2020, which is presented to the nation's top player who began his career as a walk-on.
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PFF on Carlton Martial
Martial walked on for the Troy Trojans in 2017, made his first start in 2018 and has since been in the conversation for the best off-ball linebacker in the Group of Five. He's on the smaller end, standing at 5-foot-9 and 216 pounds, but that hasn't held him back. Martial posted PFF grades of 90.9, 91.3 and 82.4 in his three years on the field. He has accumulated 159 defensive stops in that span, the most among all FBS off-ball linebackers.Â
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While the lowest-graded season of his career came in 2020, that 82.4 mark was still good enough to rank 12th in the FBS. And over his last six games, he was college football's highest-graded off-ball linebacker.
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TROY, Ala. – Already named the No. 3 returning linebacker in the country by Pro Football Focus, the industry leader announced Wednesday that Troy junior linebacker Carlton Martial has been named to its Preseason All-America Second Team. Martial led the country in tackles last season and his combined tackle total for the 2019 and 2020 seasons are the most in the country.
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A native of Mobile, Ala., Martial, who checks in at 5-foot-9, recorded 113 tackles in 2020 and has 239 tackles since the start of the 2019 season. He finished 2020 with 10.0 tackles for loss and was one of just nine players nationally to rank in the top 50 in both tackles and tackles for loss following the regular season. Martial broke up a trio of passes and intercepted Coastal Carolina's Grayson McCall (one of just two on the year) to set up a late go-ahead score for the Trojans in the season finale.
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In 2019, he was named to the PFF All-America Second Team and became just the 12th player and first underclassman in the last 20 years at the FBS level to finish a season with at least 100 tackles, 15 tackles for loss and three interceptions. He closed the year with 126 tackles, the most by a Troy player since 2000, and 18.5 tackles for loss, the fifth most in a season in Troy history, and three picks. Martial was the only player in the country to rank in the top eight nationally in tackles (10.5) and tackles for loss per game (1.54).
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Martial has twice been named to the All-Sun Belt First Team and was a semifinalist for the Burlsworth Trophy in 2020, which is presented to the nation's top player who began his career as a walk-on.
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PFF on Carlton Martial
Martial walked on for the Troy Trojans in 2017, made his first start in 2018 and has since been in the conversation for the best off-ball linebacker in the Group of Five. He's on the smaller end, standing at 5-foot-9 and 216 pounds, but that hasn't held him back. Martial posted PFF grades of 90.9, 91.3 and 82.4 in his three years on the field. He has accumulated 159 defensive stops in that span, the most among all FBS off-ball linebackers.Â
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While the lowest-graded season of his career came in 2020, that 82.4 mark was still good enough to rank 12th in the FBS. And over his last six games, he was college football's highest-graded off-ball linebacker.
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