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He says he's playing with some advantages. ''I'm already low and I ain't got to worry about arm tackling," he says. ''When people arm tackle, they usually don't make the tackle. I make plays when I make the tackle."

He had a sack in his first game.

''The quarterback fooled the defensive line because he faked it to the halfback and tried to run the ball," says Martin. ''Because I'm low to the ground, I see him try to run down the line of scrimmage to the right. He tried to hit the C gap [between tackle and tight end], but I broke through and it counted as a sack."

A bit of a wild side
In school, Martin is a C student.

''When I first met him, I felt kind of sorry for him, but there isn't anything wrong with that boy," says Anthony Graham, his language arts instructor. ''He's just like any other 17-year-old boy."

Graham turns toward Martin, who is reading in class. On closer examination, he's looking at fan letters, not ''The Adventures of Beowulf."

''Now finish your fan mail and get ready to do some work," Graham says.