Kareem Martin

Notes: Conference defensive player of the year in 2008, Martin racked up 121 tackles and had five sacks, two forced fumbles and two blocked kicks. An excellent athlete, he came close to averaging a triple-double in basketball in the 2008/2009 season and was the conference champion in the high jump as a sophomore.

Head coach Russell Weinstein: "Kareem is a testament to what hard work will do for you. Obviously, he has God-given talents such as being 6-5, almost 6-6. When I first met the young man, he was a 6-4 rising sophomore, but he didn't weigh 180 pounds. I watched him play basketball and had intentions of throwing the ball to him as a wide receiver. When I got to doing live work with him, we put him on the defensive side of the ball on the scout team. He started making plays. I noticed his ability to get off blocks and pursue and get to the ball. He ended up playing every game at defensive end as a sophomore. He just battled. He played hard all the time."