Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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The small, all-male boarding school in the hills of Northern Virginia isn't known for its ability to produce top talent yet, but the trickle of Division I players coming from Alexander 's program seems to be turning in a steady stream — one that the Irish could be drinking from often in the future. Woodberry Forest has NOW. MY HEART IS SET ON IT." MARTINI "WITH THE COMBINATION OF ACADEMICS AND ATHLETICS, I FIGURED I SHOULD COMMIT a reputation as a demanding academic school that sends 100 percent of its stu- dents to college. They attend class six days a week and have mandatory study hall every night. It also happens to be on the outskirts of one of fastest growing hotbeds for high school football talent, according to veteran recruiting analyst Tom Lemming. "Virginia is a loaded state," Lemming hall an hour early to maintain his 4.0 GPA and once told Alexander to pull him off the field if he needed to because he felt he let the team down on a kick return during his freshman season. "I told my wife when said. "You could just see it. His leadership ability was just off the charts." Martini now plans to put his leadership I met him as an eighth- grader, 'If that kid comes here he'll be the best in- side linebacker I've ever coached,' " Alexander abilities to work in adding future class- mate in the 2014 recruiting group during the next 18 months and perhaps building a relationship between Woodberry Forest and the Irish. ✦ said. "That school is so loaded. Notre Dame now has two guys from Woodberry Forest. Martini's got better teammates than him for next year, too. So hopefully he could talk those guys into coming." Martini (6-3, 225 pounds) is a smart, blue-collar linebacker with room and time to grow into a sturdy inside complement to the impressive group Notre Dame is set to bring in next season. He runs a 4.71 40-yard dash and squats 415 pounds at 16 years old. He had eight takeaways last year on defense and scored on three of them, which is an area where the Irish were lack- ing last fall. Analysts like Lemming don't think he has the athletic "wow" factor to become a blue-chipper, but Alexander said Martini's strengths are his intangibles. The all-state selection last year will be a team captain as a junior, routinely shows up for study FILM ANALYSIS of frame that will continue to add weight, but keep athleticism and mobility … Capable of making plays both in the run and pass game due to field awareness and pursuit angles to the football … Sound from start to finish in regards to playing low by getting into a stance with a good base to shuffling to the ball carrier to striking and securing the tackle. Strengths Possesses great size as a sophomore with the type ment on tape, but he still has two years to work at it, and advancements in the strength department will help … Plays a bit flat footed at times, so footwork drills to stay up on his toes, react quicker, and work downhill will help transition his skill set to an inside linebacker at the collegiate level. Areas To Improve Speed is the most glaring area that needs improve- AUGUST 2012 81 — Jason Sapp