Auburn Tigers: Exclusive Interview With 4-Star 2018 RB Asa Martin

The Auburn Tigers have a rich college football history and quite a few top-notch running backs have come through town. Now, 2018 four-star running back commit Asa Martin is hoping to join those ranks. Martin is ranked as the No. 10 running back in the nation for the 2018 class and is widely expected to become a star at Auburn.

Martin is a standout star at Austin High School in Decatur, Alabama, although he has gone on a bit of a road trip throughout his high school career. One of his stops included IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, which helped take his game to a new level.

Standing in at 6-foot-0 and 195 pounds, Martin is a top-notch playmaker. Auburn fans can expect to see exciting plays from this young man and will view him as a fan favorite early on in his career.

Outside of Auburn, Martin had quite a few high-profile offers that he could have chosen. Among those schools that offered him were Alabama, Georgia, Michigan, Oregon, West Virginia, Texas, and Florida. Choosing Auburn over all of those other offers shows just how much Martin wanted to play for the Tigers.

I had the opportunity to sit down and talk with Martin about his commitment and many other things. If you haven’t had a chance to watch much of Martin and want to find out more about him, you will enjoy the rest of this article.

First on the agenda, we had to ask Martin why he chose Auburn out of all of his offers and what his main deciding factors were.

“Auburn has a home-like environment. I also have great relationships there and love the offense.”

Martin then went on to talk about his game and describe it for fans who have been unable to see him play.

“I’m an every-down running back. I think the two things that set me apart are catching out of the backfield and my pass blocking ability.”

Back in 2013, Martin went through a rough time after losing his grandmother. He nearly quit football, but instead found motivation and it helped drive him to where he is today. Martin opened up about the loss and how it helped get him to this point in his football career.

“I learned how to handle adversity. It was my first time ever having something I truly cared about leave my life and it just happened to be one of the most important women in my life. So it taught me that life isn’t going to be a breeze. You’re going to have tough times and it’s up to you to determine how you bounce back from the situation. It helped me grow a lot. I feel like I matured quickly because of it off the field and on the field it just gave me a big boost and motivation.”

Martin also has high goals for his career at Auburn and opened up on a few of them.

“My short-term goal is to go in as a freshman and try to play. I’m going to enroll so that’ll help a bit and as a team, of course, win a National Championship.”

Fans always love to hear comparisons for players and Le’Veon Bell is a player that Martin believes he compares to a bit.

“He’s quick and has good feet, good hands, and is very patient.”

What is Martin like off the field you ask? He talked a bit about himself as a person away from the game he loves.

“Away from football I like hanging with friends, playing video games, and I’m starting to like deer hunting a bit too.”

In addition to describing his game early on in the interview, Martin talked about his biggest strengths and weaknesses at this point in his career.

“My weaknesses are probably my size. I need to get bigger. My strengths are my vision and hands.”

Martin talked about his journey to where he is and when he knew he was a D-1 football talent. He also talked about who has helped him get to this point the most in his life to close out the interview.

“There was never really a point where I was just like ‘holy crap I’m a D-1 player,’ but when I went to IMG, that let me know I can play with the best of the best. My mom has helped me get to the point she set the example by working hard to provide for me and my brother and always setting the standards high.”

All of that being said, Martin has a very bright future ahead of him. He has star potential and with the work ethic and attitude that he has, the sky is the limit.

We hope that you enjoyed this interview and will give Martin a follow on Twitter as he takes the next step in his football career. His Twitter account is @TheAsaMartin_.

[Featured Image by Brynn Anderson/AP Images]