AMHERST – UMass linebacker Tyler Martin of Acton wanted to play exclusively for Don Brown when he signed on to compete at Arizona after a stellar scholastic career at BB&N.
Brown was the Wildcats’ defensive coordinator in 2021 who enticed Martin to bring his substantial football talents to Tucson for an extended run in the Pac-12. Things didn’t work for either of them at Arizona.
Brown left to become the head coach at UMass following the 2021 season. Martin decamped Arizona after not seeing the field as a true freshman in 2022. Martin and Brown were back together working toward a common goal under a sweltering sun on Monday morning at McGuirk Alumni Stadium.
UMass opens the season on Aug. 26 at New Mexico State.
“I was able to establish a relationship with coach Brown who obviously loves recruiting in Massachusetts,” said Martin. “I’ve known coach Brown now for about five years and he had been coming to BB&N and recruiting a lot of guys from the program.
“I am just glad that I’ve been fortunate enough to continue to go on and play college football, especially for coach Brown.”
Arizona became a nonstarter for Martin after Brown decamped but there were other factors in play that influenced his decision to move back to his home state.
The Pac-12, through a number of major defections in the ranks, was already teetering toward insolvency when Arizona left to join the Big 12. Through the mounting disarray, Martin saw his prospects for a college football career were brighter at UMass.
“There were a ton of factors but the biggest thing for me was that I had grown up through high school wanting to play for coach Brown,” said Martin. “The fact that he was back here in my home state was a double plus.
“I got to come back to the East Coast, come back to my home state and play for coach Brown. That was something that I didn’t think I could pass up.”
Martin wasn’t the only Wildcats’ player to hop aboard the Donnie Brown Express out of the Valley of the Sun. Martin is one of six former Arizona players on the UMass training camp roster.
The group includes junior wide receiver Anthony Simpson, redshirt senior linebacker Jerry Roberts Jr., redshirt sophomore running back Jalen John, redshirt sophomore linebacker RJ Edwards and redshirt freshman defensive lineman Jermaine Wiggins Jr. of Boston. Overall, UMass was one of the busiest off-ramps in the NCAA transfer portal after the 2022 season.
“It has been awesome and obviously it speaks to coach Brown that all those guys that were with him in Arizona and it’s a testament to them as well,” said Martin. “A bunch of the guys from Arizona wanted to come to play their final season here and others like me who has a lot more.
“But just coming back to play for coach Brown made the transition into spring ball a lot easier. Just coming in to a brand-new team with some guys I was with last season. I think we bring a good mindset coming in to help coach Brown and everyone else in the program to turn UMass football around.”
The 6-2, 250-pound Martin played middle linebacker in high school and on the practice squad at Arizona, but Brown is transitioning him to the strong side of the front seven.
UMass plays an independent schedule and has won just a pair of games the last two seasons. The one benefit to joining a struggling program is there are jobs to be won. Martin is in a competitive situation with two other guys but feels confident that with the right guidance, he can get on the field at the SAM position.
“He is doing a good job there and he is a very physical guy,” said Brown. “He can rush the passer, he can lineup over the tight end and win his battles and he is doing really well, no complaints.”