By Mark Eckel, Player Engagement Insider
Blake Martinez was being recruited by a few colleges out of high school in Arizona. Once he chose Stanford, the other decisions became easy ones.
Martinez, a 2016 fourth-round Draft pick of the Green Bay Packers, graduated from Stanford earlier this month with a degree in management science and engineering.
The inside linebacker has a shot to win a starting job in Green Bay as a rookie. While that would be quite an accomplishment, so was graduating from Stanford.
“When I was in high school I was being recruited by a few schools, I narrowed it down to Oregon and Stanford,’’ Martinez said. “Oregon had all those cool uniforms, 40 different jerseys, and all the Nike stuff. That was tempting.
“But I decided I wanted to go to a school that would set me up for life, not just for football. I wasn’t just looking at the next four years, but the next 40 years, so that’s why I chose Stanford.
“And then once I did, graduating wasn’t just an option, it was the No. 1 priority. There was never a doubt I would graduate, it was 100 percent going to happen. I joke that if I didn’t graduate my parents would never talk to me again. But it wasn’t just for my parents it was for me as well.’’
Martinez played for head coach David Shaw and the Cardinals as a true freshman and once that happened, the plan to finish midway through his senior year was put in place.
“When I didn’t redshirt, I talked to my advisor,’’ Martinez said. “We mapped out a plan.’’
And it wasn’t easy.
“At Stanford you weren’t just playing the best football, but in the classroom you were within the most competitive environment possible,’’ Martinez said. “There were guys in the science department who sent a space monkey to the moon.’’
Martinez’ plan, while certainly not easy, played to the linebacker’s advantage when he was able to attend all of the Packers’ offseason workouts this spring. There are rules, from some schools, that prohibit rookies from attending OTAs and minicamps until their class graduates. Since Martinez was finished with his studies he was allowed.
“Big advantage,’’ Martinez, who ran with the Packers’ first team defense alongside second-year man Jake Ryan in the absence of linebacker Sam Barrington, who is coming back from a foot injury, said. “Just being here (in Green Bay) and learning the system, the terminology, it was a big help for me.’’
Martinez did go back to Palo Alto to walk with his class on June 12th where the keynote speaker was documentary filmmaker Ken Burns.
“Going back (to Stanford), to be honest I was thinking I can’t wait to get back to Green Bay,’’ Martinez said. “I wanted to get back to work. But (to walk and receive the diploma) a lot of it was for my family.’’
Martinez’ parents, grandmother and great-grandparents all made the trip from Arizona.
“It did mean a lot,’’ Martinez said of graduating. “Maybe I wasn’t one of the geniuses who sent a space monkey to the moon, but I was able to graduate from Stanford early.’’