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Colonel White assistant coach Kerry Ivy says that is the exception -- and that Martin has also gotten ''pancaked."

''You better hit him, because he's going to hit you," Ivy says. ''His heart is bigger than our biggest lineman, 6 feet 6 inches, 310 pounds. He's the fire on this team. If he had legs, he'd be recruited by every Division 1 school in the country. Everything he does is remarkable. I look at him like everybody else. After 10 minutes, you absolutely forget he has no legs."

But he never did have legs.

At birth, says his mother, Gloria, ''They told me his legs were hiding. They never told me they weren't there. I never thought they weren't there until he was born."

His parents separated when he was 2 or 3, Martin says. His father left, returning only recently. Told that his father is in the stands, Martin says, ''I don't look into the audience during the game."

Martin credits his mother for his success. ''My mom never held me back, she wasn't overprotective, she'd let me try everything," he says. ''She told me to go for it."

Little did she know her son would be king.

''I'm very proud," she says. ''I didn't hold him back from doing anything. I said, 'No limits.' He was in a little trouble growing up, but I guess he matured."