Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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16 NOV. 28, 2016 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY MATT JONES G reer Martini has made the most of his specialized role against triple-option teams. Now, the junior linebacker is hoping to expand on that. The 6-3, 240-pound Martini is per- haps Notre Dame's most versatile linebacker. But his most vital role on Notre Dame's defense has been de- fending against Navy and Army. In back-to-back games against the service academies, Martini registered 11 and nine tackles, respectively. "I want to be more than that," Mar- tini said of defending the option. "This is my opportunity for the most part to get on the field, and I showed that I can make some plays and hope- fully will play more on the defense the rest of the year." Through 10 games this season, Martini had logged 287 snaps at line- backer. Of those snaps, 76 came in the opener against Texas. Since that game, he's played a smaller role, except for games against Navy and Army, when he played 51 and 35 snaps, respectively. The Cary, N.C., native ranked fourth on the team in tackles with 52 and was tied for third with seven tackles for loss. Despite his lesser role, he was also second on the team with three sacks. It's a credit to Martini's football knowledge that he can step in and make the most of his opportunities. "That's a kid that comes to work every single day and shows the line- backer corps how to work," senior linebacker James Onwualu said of Martini. "It's tough to come to prac- tice, especially through a season like this, but Greer has been a guy that's backed me up on the energy, the ex- ecution. "He comes to practice every day and works as hard as he can and keeps other players accountable." Martini, who is majoring in finance, entered the season as the starter at Will linebacker, the position vacated by Jaylon Smith. His role, though, wasn't quite so cut and dry. During his first two seasons, he was a Swiss Army knife of sorts at linebacker. "I call Greer 'The Plumber,'" Notre Dame junior middle linebacker Nyles Morgan said in August. "You can stick Greer anywhere, and he'll do the job." Martini led his Woodberry Forest (Va.) School team in tackles (92) as a senior, and also had nine tackles for loss, one sack, nine passes de- fended, six quarterback hurries and four forced fumbles. He was also an all-state pitcher and third baseman on the baseball team as a junior and a starting point guard on the basketball team. A three-star prospect according to Rivals, Martini was ranked as the No. 33 player in the state of Virginia in the class of 2014. Martini first showed what he could do against the triple option as a fresh- man in 2014 when he was the fourth linebacker on the depth chart for for- mer Irish defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder. Notre Dame decided to go with a four-linebacker scheme against Navy. Martini received his first start, and something else he didn't expect. "I was so nervous before the game I broke out in hives," said Martini, who led the Irish that day with nine tack- les. "I remember it pretty vividly." Martini can't quite figure out why he's so effective against option teams. He said he played just two teams in high school that ran it, crediting his success to his own natural instincts. "Some of our players, they get lost in all the misdirection," Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly said. "Greer stays focused on the details and trusts the keys we give him, where other guys lose their eye discipline. He's a very disciplined player. To play the option, you have to be a re- ally disciplined player. And he car- ries that with him in these kinds of games. "He has a good sense for finding the football. And he's a very disci- plined player, and you have to have that trait when you're playing option teams. When you look at some of the traits that great players have, they are very disciplined players that are going to find the football, and he does that quite well." While he's able to teach what he knows about the option to the team's less experienced players, Martini said that knowledge can go only so far. "It's just more instinctive," he said. "If you have tremendous ef- fort against a team like that, you can make a bunch of plays no matter how fundamentally sound you are. "Everyone has an assignment against the triple option, and it takes a disciplined player and a smart player to be really good against the option. You know your responsibility, you go out and do that, and you trust the guys around you." Kelly said there's been one major difference in Martini's play as the sea- son has progressed. "He's in a different place mentally and a lot more confident as a football player," Kelly said. "If you watch the film of the Texas game and you watch the film of the Navy game … he was bending back ball carriers. He was at the line of scrimmage getting in posi- tion where his physicality was clear. "In the Texas game, that wasn't the case. And that's a mindset. That's a mental mindset that he has brought to his game. "He's just clearly in a different place. And that comes with confi- dence; that comes with where he is in our system. He's playing really good football." ✦ A GOOD OPTION Junior Greer Martini is making the most of his chances in 2016, especially against Navy and Army "THIS IS MY OPPORTUNITY FOR THE MOST PART TO GET ON THE FIELD, AND I SHOWED THAT I CAN MAKE SOME PLAYS AND HOPEFULLY WILL PLAY MORE ON THE DEFENSE THE REST OF THE YEAR." MARTINI Martini has played very well in his career against the triple option — this year he recorded 11 tack- les versus Navy and posted nine in the Army win. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA