BTake one look at a picture of Jaharie Martin doing anything —lifting weights, sporting a football jersey, standing in place — and his physique is striking, particularly for a teenager.
When the 6-foot, 238-pound outside linebacker posed for a picture with Montana State running backs coach and recruiting coordinator DeNarius McGhee in January, even Twitter took pause.
“Shirt off in the recruiting pic,” former Montana State All-American offensive lineman J.P. Flynn, most recently of the San Francisco 49ers, responded to the picture.
It should come as no surprise to anyone that has seen Martin in person or in pictures that he has an affinity for the weight room. It should come as no surprise that he is a multi-time Florida state championship meet qualifying power lifter, a feather in the cap of an all-state football career which he helped the Lakeland High Dreadnaughts to the Florida 7A state championship in 2018.
Understanding Martin’s penchant for power means it should come as no surprise that the soon to be college freshman wants to major in kinesiology, the study of the human body in motion. And that confluence of the characteristics that make Martin who — and makes him look like how he looks — is what led the Sunshine State native to sign with Montana State.
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“I like the teams they play and the conference they are in, but after I took my visit, I saw they had a very good program for kinesiology, which is what I want to major in. That’s what sold me. I liked everything about it.”
Martin hopes football takes him as far as he can it. But after his playing days are over, he wants to become a strength and conditioning coach or personal trainer.
“I just want to be a person who can help other athletes work on their skills and what they do,” he said.
Since Jeff Choate took over as Montana State’s head coach in December of 2015, the former defensive assistant for the Florida Gators has opened up a mini-pipeline from the state. Offensive line coach Brian Armstrong formerly served as the head coach at Lake Gibson (2001-2002) where Martin started his career. Armstrong also coached at Kathleen High in Florida in 2005 and 2006.
Armstrong first visited Lakeland High to recruit Martin just before Thanksgiving of 2018. A few weeks later, the Dreadnaughts won the state title.
Martin played the 2016 and 2017 seasons at Lake Gibson High, notching 75 tackles, 16 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks as a junior defensive end. He transferred to Lakeland for his final season, rolling up 120 tackles, 74 solo tackles, 27.5 tackles for loss and 14 sacks in earning MVP of his team and Polk County Defensive Player of the Year honors. He also scored 18 rushing touchdowns on 34 carries as a goal line back for a team that went undefeated.
“Jaharie was the leading tackler on a team that won a championship,” Choate said on National Signing Day February 7. “He’s a physical player, an enforcer in the middle of the defense that can really run and hit. He’s a tremendous player and we’re really excited about his future in our program.”
During his official visit to Montana State’s campus less than two weeks before signing day, Martin spent time with player host Jahque Alleyne, a safety from Virginia Beach, Virginia who started his career at Virginia Tech. He also hung out with James Campbell and Tyrel Burgess, MSU’s two most recent signees from Florida. Burgess has since left the program.
The weather in Southwest Montana that weekend was relatively calm considering the pending frigid spell that froze all of Western Montana in February. Martin said “it wasn’t really that cold,” saying he felt way more frozen and wind chilled during his unofficial visit to Purdue in Indiana in December.
While in Bozeman, Martin said “I asked Coach Choate a tough question and he just kept it real.
“Before he was at Montana State, he was at Washington, Florida, all them other schools and I asked him, ‘Are you really going to be staying if I come to your school?’ He kept it real genuine and we ate dinner at his house. I don’t think other coaches do that. He said he wanted to be at Montana State. I thought he was real and genuine and that’s why I committed.”
Martin’s blend of speed, explosiveness, impressive pursuit and sheer power earned him offers from FBS Southern Miss along with FCS offers from Alcorn State, Rhode Island, Tennessee Tech, South Alabama and Bethune-Cookman.
A transfer during a prime recruiting time in his high school career and a lack of prototypical height proved to be factors in Power 5 programs staying away. Martin will count three former Lakeland teammates on Florida’s roster next season. He said there’s a handful of juniors that have offers from Florida, Florida State and Miami. He estimates he played against “five or six Power 5 players every single game.” Yet Martin is not caught up on his late arrival on the recruiting scene.
“People say I was under-recruited and I think that sometimes but I still think, ‘I’m going to school for free,” Martin said. “I’m playing against some of these top talents that are being recruited by these big FBS schools. So that gives me a ton of confidence.
“I’ve been on both sides of the spectrum. I have been in a place where I wasn’t getting recruited at all. Then I went to having a handful of schools that really want me. That’s why I’m grateful. For the people that don’t have any offers, having one offer was good for me. Going through that phase of not being recruited at all and having to recruit myself made me be humble made me feel thankful for the position I was put in at the end of my senior year.”
After spending his first two varsity seasons as an edge player, Martin evolved into a dominant inside linebacker, the position he will battle to start at for the Bobcats this fall. His ability to get sideline to sideline and his ability to finish tackles are elite for FCS linebackers.
He also possesses high major strength in the weight room, something that also helps bolster his confidence. At the Class 2A District 12 power lifting meet, Martin bench pressed 365 pounds. He successfully clean & jerked 295 pounds before foregoing his final attempt at 305 because he was still recovering from an injured wrist.
The 660-pound total would’ve won the meet and been in contention for the state championship but Martin was disqualified because he did not compete in four meets prior to districts because of the injury. Lakeland stated they would petition the ruling but never did.
That background pumping iron is something that gives Martin a baseline for the grind that is Division I football.
“It’s just something I do because I was always naturally strong,” Martin said. “Being strong, it’s something to do: lift weights.”
The strangely fulfilling pain that comes with weight lifting is a part of Martin.
“I wouldn’t say love it,” Martin said with a sly chuckle. “There are days where I just don’t want to do it. But I know to be the best I can be, I gotta do it. I do like working out. I do like pushing myself because I know that’s what I have to do to be the best and play with the best.
“I just keep working because if you don’t keep working, you stay in the same place and if you are staying in the same place, you are actually getting worse.”
Lakeland is approximately a 37-hour drive from Bozeman, Montana. It’s 2,415 miles between Martin’s old and new homes. While he’s not the first Florida native to come to MSU, it is sure to be a stark transition, one that began on Monday with Martin’s first days of summer school and football workouts. The journey is one Martin is looking forward to.
“It’s a change of scenery, the state itself,” Martin said. “I’ve been down in Florida and you get used to the same stuff. Me making that culture change will help me expand my horizons and maximize my talents. I’ll be able to connect and network with a different type of people and a different culture. People in Florida and people in Montana are totally different. It will be cool to have connections to people from a different side of the country.
“Coming from not getting recruited at all to now, my senior year, having to choose, it feels good. People don’t know the work that I put in to get this scholarship. They only see these kids who get to go to school for free. They don’t see the work that goes in literally starting when you are five or six years old. I’ve been working and working so having something to show for it and my parents don’t have to pay for my school, that’s a huge blessing.”
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