{"id":71692,"date":"2018-07-25T12:37:45","date_gmt":"2018-07-25T17:37:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=71692"},"modified":"2018-07-25T12:37:45","modified_gmt":"2018-07-25T17:37:45","slug":"indianas-big-wes-martin-stands-tall-in-big-ten-and-hometown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/indianas-big-wes-martin-stands-tall-in-big-ten-and-hometown\/","title":{"rendered":"Indiana’s “Big Wes” Martin stands tall in Big Ten and hometown"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Robbie Weinstein<\/strong>
\nMedill Reports<\/em><\/p>\n

Indiana offensive lineman Wes Martin is so strong, Hoosiers safety Jonathan Crawford doesn’t like to watch him lift. In fact, the redshirt senior is the undisputed strongest player on the team. Even among the many towering athletes at Big Ten Media Days in Chicago, Martin stands out.<\/p>\n

Martin\u2019s former head coach at Milton-Union High School in Ohio says the 6-foot-3, 316-pound offensive lineman\u2014known by many as \u201cBig Wes\u201d\u2014is the largest student to ever come through the school. Many children from Martin\u2019s hometown of West Milton look up to him, and he represents them each time he steps on the field at Indiana\u2019s Memorial Stadium.<\/p>\n

\u201cWes will do anything any kid needs,\u201d said Mark Lane, Milton-Union\u2019s athletic director and former head football coach. \u201cYou\u2019ll hear young kids who are in our elementary school today still talk about Big Wes. That\u2019s what everybody says here at Milton, \u2018Big Wes, Big Wes.\u2019 Some of those little kids might not even know his last name, because all they know him by is Big Wes.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Community means a lot in West Milton, a town of roughly 4,700 people about 25 miles northwest of Dayton. Martin didn’t choose Indiana because of family connections or the chance to play in the Big Ten. Instead, Martin became an Indiana fan during former Milton-Union quarterback Mitchell Evans\u2019s Hoosiers tenure from 2007-10.<\/p>\n

Now, Martin is Indiana\u2019s rock. Big Wes benches 535 pounds and squats in the mid-600s\u2014he says he built toughness “unloading the barn” on an Ohio dairy farm where he once worked. He anchors the Hoosiers\u2019 offensive line and serves as the understated leader of an offense that finished sixth in the Big Ten in points and yards per game in 2017.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe does everything right,\u201d said Hoosiers wide receiver Like Timian. \u201cFor a young guy, if you want to learn how to be elite in this league and be a great man overall, watch that guy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Perhaps the most surprising thing about Martin is how early he blossomed as a leader. A right MCL sprain cut short his senior year at Milton-Union, and the team limped to a 2-8 record. Martin didn\u2019t get down, however, putting even more energy into leadership and setting a good example for the young players who would carry the Bulldogs after he graduated.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was not a pretty season, his senior year,\u201d Lane said. \u201cWes never wavered, and he knew what was right for the team and always pushed the team along.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoosiers head coach Tom Allen characterizes Martin as dependable and consistent, but he isn\u2019t boring. Crawford laughs while describing Big Wes, and Lane calls him a \u201cgood ole country boy.\u201d The good-natured Martin plays a key role in Indiana\u2019s locker room.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can count on that guy,\u201d Allen said. \u201cI tell our team this all the time: I want guys that are smart, tough and dependable. When I think of those three things, that\u2019s Wes Martin.\u201d<\/p>\n

Crawford said that when one media member asked Martin what animal he would return as in the afterlife, Big Wes said he\u2019d be a grizzly bear. It isn\u2019t hard to see why: Martin was named Honorable Mention All-Big Ten in 2017 and mauls opponents with his mammoth frame.<\/p>\n

Indiana mostly started over on its offensive line in 2017, and Martin helped hold things together. Martin logged the most snaps of any offensive guard in the FBS not to allow a sack last year, according to Pro Football Focus<\/a>, and Allen praised his grit. The Hoosiers will need it when they face divisional foes Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State, all of which have among the best defensive lines in the country.<\/p>\n

Allen said Martin\u2019s challenge has been translating his immense strength to in-game situations by exploding into defensive linemen, and that\u2019s been a major part of Martin\u2019s offseason training. Martin feels he deserved a spot on an All-Big Ten team in 2017, however, and that\u2019s driven him since last season.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t happy with being Honorable Mention All-Big Ten,\u201d Martin said. \u201cIt\u2019s natural to want to be the best you can. There was motivation there to keep pushing forward and to be even better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Big Ten honors aside, those around Martin express confidence in him. Allen said he sees Martin as a future NFL player, although Lane says the residents of West Milton love Big Wes regardless.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s gonna make his family proud, he\u2019s gonna make our town proud, he\u2019s gonna make our school proud,\u201d Lane said. \u201cThere couldn\u2019t be a better ambassador that we could put out there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Photo at top: Indiana’s Wes Martin meets with the media on Tuesday, July 24 at Big Ten Media Days in Chicago. (Robbie Weinstein\/MEDILL REPORTS)<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Robbie Weinstein Medill Reports Indiana offensive lineman Wes Martin is so strong, Hoosiers safety Jonathan Crawford doesn’t like to watch him lift. In fact, the redshirt senior is the undisputed strongest player on the team. Even among the many towering athletes at Big Ten Media Days in Chicago, Martin stands out. Martin\u2019s former head […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":452,"featured_media":71693,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31,4390],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-71692","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","category-summer-2018"],"yoast_head":"\nIndiana's "Big Wes" Martin stands tall in Big Ten and hometown - Medill Reports Chicago<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/indianas-big-wes-martin-stands-tall-in-big-ten-and-hometown\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Indiana's "Big Wes" Martin stands tall in Big Ten and hometown - Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Robbie Weinstein Medill Reports Indiana offensive lineman Wes Martin is so strong, Hoosiers safety Jonathan Crawford doesn’t like to watch him lift. In fact, the redshirt senior is the undisputed strongest player on the team. Even among the many towering athletes at Big Ten Media Days in Chicago, Martin stands out. 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