GLIAC preview: Wayne State's Desmond Martin takes aim at 2,000-yard season

Desmond Martin the 6-foot, 220-pound fifth-year senior, will be called upon this year as a starting running back for the Warriors football team. "I really feel good about it," said Martin, a management major at Wayne State University School of Business Administration. "I feel this is the year we’re going to turn a lot of heads and make a lot of noise in the GLIAC. I’m expecting a big year from myself," he said. After being redshirted his freshman year, Martin got his first taste of action as a running back on the 2011 team that set a school record for wins (12) and went on an improbable playoff run to reach the NCAA Division II national championship game. As a redshirt sophomore, his role expanded and he became a change-of-pace back behind starter Toney Davis. Then as a junior in 2013, Martin continued to prove himself and earned more carries, splitting time with Davis in the backfield and flip-flopping every other series. Through it all, Martin never started a game. Martin enters the 2014 season ranked 22nd in all-time rushing with 1,213 yards, second in average yards per carry (5.44) -- behind Detroit Lion and former Harlon Hill Trophy winner Joique Bell -- and fifth in total offense per play (5.44) behind three quarterbacks and Bell.

The Detroit News

 

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