Education
A native of Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina, he attended Roanoke Rapids, where he was a letterman in football, basketball and track. In football, Martin was twice named the area defensive player of the year and was named the NCHSAA Athlete of the Year. As a senior, he helped lead Roanoke Rapids to an undefeated season and a conference title.
He finished his senior season with 163 tackles, 10 forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, four sacks and one interception, and also had 25 tackles for a loss.
He had 121 tackles and five sacks as a junior.
In track & field, Martin was one of the state"s top performers in the jumping and hurdling events. He qualified for the state finals in the high jump by leaping 6 ft 6 in (199 m) at the 2010 NCHSAA 2A Mideast Regional.
In addition, he also took 5th in the 110-meter hurdles event in that same meet, recording a personal-best time of 15.84 second. At the NCHSAA 2A State Track Championship, he tied for 2nd place in the high jump, with a leap of 6 ft 6 in (198 m).
Considered a three-star recruit by Rivals.com, he was rated the 28th best weakside defensive end in the nation.
Martin accepted a scholarship offer from North Carolina over offers from Duke and Virginia Technical and majored in Public Policy.
