The player once branded as the Cowboys’ biggest hitter, patrolling the defensive backfield from 2008 to 2011, is now six games into his first season as a graduate assistant in Stillwater.
by Kyle Fredrickson Published: October 23, 2015
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STILLWATER — If Tre Flowers or Jordan Sterns makes a mistake during a game, each heads back to the Oklahoma State sideline knowing they'll get an earful from a coach.
Not just from the usual suspects, defensive coordinator Glenn Spencer and safeties coach Dan Hammerschmidt, though.
This voice is just a bit different. Especially after a missed tackle, Sterns says it usually goes something like this: “I would have killed that dude.”
Flowers laughed.
“Oh of course, that's Markelle,” he said. “Coach Markelle is going to talk.”
Coach Markelle is former OSU safety Markelle Martin.
As thousands of alumni flock to Stillwater for the Cowboys' 2:30 p.m. Saturday matchup with Kansas, Martin will certainly feel at home for homecoming. The player once branded as the Cowboys' biggest hitter, patrolling the defensive backfield from 2008 to 2011, is now six games into his first season as a graduate assistant in Stillwater.
Martin was selected by the Tennessee Titans in the sixth round of the 2012 NFL Draft, but a knee injury derailed his career. He signed with the CFL's Toronto Argonauts for a short time, but did not play.
Per team policy, an interview request with Martin was denied, but his impact on the safeties he's mentored since summer camp is clear.
“I talk to him every day,” Flowers said. “Pick his brain as much as I can.”
Said Sterns: “To have him on the sideline is great. He's good with route recognition and formation tendencies. He's just a real good student of the game. Of course, he's still learning just like everybody else. But he knows this game better than I do.”
That player-coach relationship is strengthened because of recent history. When OSU faced Stanford in the Fiesta Bowl in January 2012, Sterns and Flowers were high school juniors. But Sterns recalls with clarity watching on television as Martin laid a hit on Stanford tight end Ty Montgomery that sent his helmet rolling across the turf.
“That was before I was committed and everything,” Sterns said in a 2014 interview. “But the way (Martin) got up and reacted, the way the crowd reacted … it was something I liked.”
Today, the pair tries to emulate that hard-hitting mentality. Martin likes to remind them, too.
“He had a lot of big hits,” Flowers said, then smiled. “He always talks about it.”
OSU coach Mike Gundy says it usually takes one or two years for former players who get into college coaching to decide whether they're suited for the lifestyle. Martin's sample size is small, but Gundy has liked what he's seen so far.
“(Martin) communicates very well with our players, and he's very intelligent,” Gundy said. “There's just such a difference in playing the game and coaching the game.”
However, Martin's influence couldn't have arrived a better time.
Following middle linebacker Ryan Simmons' season-ending knee injury earlier this month, the Cowboy defense is without its most respected vocal leader. That role could very well shift to Sterns, OSU's leading tackler last season.
“When it happened, Coach Spencer came up to me during practice and just told me that it's time for me to be a little bit more vocal,” Sterns said. “Usually, I'm not a very vocal dude. I just do my thing and try to lead by example. But as of lately, I've been trying to cheer everybody up, getting everybody hyped up.”
Martin served a similar role during the Cowboys' 2011 run to a Big 12 title, and the defense thrived. OSU led the nation with 44 forced turnovers.
“He'll bring it up,” Sterns said. “Being a good leader is also about being able to communicate on the field. It's loud. You can't hear. Things might not be going your way. That's one thing Markelle tells me, Tre, and the other safeties and corners. We need to always communicate and be together as one back there.”
by Kyle Fredrickson Published: October 23, 2015
Advertisement
STILLWATER — If Tre Flowers or Jordan Sterns makes a mistake during a game, each heads back to the Oklahoma State sideline knowing they'll get an earful from a coach.
Not just from the usual suspects, defensive coordinator Glenn Spencer and safeties coach Dan Hammerschmidt, though.
This voice is just a bit different. Especially after a missed tackle, Sterns says it usually goes something like this: “I would have killed that dude.”
Flowers laughed.
“Oh of course, that's Markelle,” he said. “Coach Markelle is going to talk.”
Coach Markelle is former OSU safety Markelle Martin.
As thousands of alumni flock to Stillwater for the Cowboys' 2:30 p.m. Saturday matchup with Kansas, Martin will certainly feel at home for homecoming. The player once branded as the Cowboys' biggest hitter, patrolling the defensive backfield from 2008 to 2011, is now six games into his first season as a graduate assistant in Stillwater.
Martin was selected by the Tennessee Titans in the sixth round of the 2012 NFL Draft, but a knee injury derailed his career. He signed with the CFL's Toronto Argonauts for a short time, but did not play.
Per team policy, an interview request with Martin was denied, but his impact on the safeties he's mentored since summer camp is clear.
“I talk to him every day,” Flowers said. “Pick his brain as much as I can.”
Said Sterns: “To have him on the sideline is great. He's good with route recognition and formation tendencies. He's just a real good student of the game. Of course, he's still learning just like everybody else. But he knows this game better than I do.”
That player-coach relationship is strengthened because of recent history. When OSU faced Stanford in the Fiesta Bowl in January 2012, Sterns and Flowers were high school juniors. But Sterns recalls with clarity watching on television as Martin laid a hit on Stanford tight end Ty Montgomery that sent his helmet rolling across the turf.
“That was before I was committed and everything,” Sterns said in a 2014 interview. “But the way (Martin) got up and reacted, the way the crowd reacted … it was something I liked.”
Today, the pair tries to emulate that hard-hitting mentality. Martin likes to remind them, too.
“He had a lot of big hits,” Flowers said, then smiled. “He always talks about it.”
OSU coach Mike Gundy says it usually takes one or two years for former players who get into college coaching to decide whether they're suited for the lifestyle. Martin's sample size is small, but Gundy has liked what he's seen so far.
“(Martin) communicates very well with our players, and he's very intelligent,” Gundy said. “There's just such a difference in playing the game and coaching the game.”
However, Martin's influence couldn't have arrived a better time.
Following middle linebacker Ryan Simmons' season-ending knee injury earlier this month, the Cowboy defense is without its most respected vocal leader. That role could very well shift to Sterns, OSU's leading tackler last season.
“When it happened, Coach Spencer came up to me during practice and just told me that it's time for me to be a little bit more vocal,” Sterns said. “Usually, I'm not a very vocal dude. I just do my thing and try to lead by example. But as of lately, I've been trying to cheer everybody up, getting everybody hyped up.”
Martin served a similar role during the Cowboys' 2011 run to a Big 12 title, and the defense thrived. OSU led the nation with 44 forced turnovers.
“He'll bring it up,” Sterns said. “Being a good leader is also about being able to communicate on the field. It's loud. You can't hear. Things might not be going your way. That's one thing Markelle tells me, Tre, and the other safeties and corners. We need to always communicate and be together as one back there.”
