SAUGUS — Ricardo Martinez has grown a lot as a player since his time at Saugus High School.
With the Sachems as a senior in 2017, he was a linebacker who tallied 117 tackles on defense and also caught 32 passes for 444 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for 243 yards and three scores on offense. He was named team MVP in his senior season, and he was also voted Student-Athlete of the Year and an Agganis All-Star.
Martinez is very grateful for the coaching he got at the school.
“I really felt that my senior year really did a great job of preparing me for the transition to college football,” he said. “My coaching staff my senior year was a tremendous help.”
After joining the Bryant University football team, Martinez took on a different role for the Bulldogs. He moved from the front seven to the secondary as a safety.
“For me, it was just really working on improving my footwork and my quickness coming out of my breaks,” said Martinez.
As a freshman, Martinez’s career didn’t get off to the best of starts. He failed to get on the field and the Saugus High graduate said that failing to get playing time motivated him for his sophomore season. Martinez also noted that the game is much more time-consuming at the collegiate level between film study, weightlifting and, of course, practice.
In his sophomore year, Martinez did find the field for the Bulldogs. He appeared in all 12 games, working his way from being a special teamer to starting on defense for the final three weeks of the season. The safety said that his time on special teams made him very appreciative of the opportunities he has been able to get at Bryant.
“I came up with a goal of just starting on special teams my sophomore year to at least begin helping the team in any way I could as well as just getting my seat on the bus to be able to travel to away games,” Martinez said. “I’ve been very appreciative just starting from a special teams player and like my coaching staff says, special teams is the third side of the coin that really gets overlooked a lot. We take it (special teams) very seriously here, so just being able to make an impact that way for my team meant a lot to me.”
Martinez said that his senior season has been amazing after a shortened 2020 season in the spring due to COVID-19.
“I’m just very happy that I’m getting a normal, regular senior year,” Martinez said. “I can’t imagine what the seniors last year went through. For a game that I’ve played for 14 years now and (have) been a part of two-thirds of my life, it means a lot to be able to have one more season.”
So far this season, Bryant is 4-3 and are coming off a nail-biter of a win against Saint Francis University, 18-17. Martinez is doing well with 46 tackles and a forced fumble so far in 2021.
“I’ve felt that the team has been performing really well,” the senior said. “On offense, we have studs everywhere, from our offensive line to our tight end group to our running back room, our wide receivers and even our quarterback room. I feel that all aspects of the team on offense are very talented and the same can be said for all of our players on special teams with our kicker, our punter, our long snapper and all of the coaches. Defensively, I could speak forever about all of my teammates and all of the coaches. I really think that we do have the best coaches and players across the (Northeast) Conference. We do have a really special group.”
Martinez hopes to finish his senior season out strong.
“I think I’ve been doing well,” Martinez said. “There are still some things that I know I need to continue to improve on. Every week there is always something to get better at.”
The senior went on to say that one thing he is upset about is the number of tackles that he has. Martinez has a competition with a teammate for who will get the most tackles this season and the safety said that he has fallen behind.
Beyond the field, Martinez has also excelled in the classroom while at Bryant. He has been named to the NEC Academic Honor Roll multiple times throughout his four years as a Bulldog.
“I can definitely thank my parents for instilling that into me, (and) just always pushing me to do well in school even when I was younger and I just wanted to not try as hard,” said Martinez. “It’s definitely carried over for me and especially in college. Coming into Bryant, I came here for the reason of academics, knowing most likely that I would not be going to the NFL and the next level. I really chose this school to prepare me for the next 40 years of my life.”
Martinez already has a job lined up once he graduates. He has accepted an offer to become a full-time district manager at ALDI.
“I’m just very grateful to have a job opportunity lined up,” said Martinez. “I’m trying not to let senioritis get the best of me. I’m very excited for that opportunity just to be able to see what life has in store for me after football. It’s going to feel weird not preparing for a season at the end of this year.”
