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Auburn RB Kam Martin undeterred in face of Hurricane Harvey devastation
By Ryan Black
Published:
The past week for Kam Martin has been difficult to imagine.
Martin, a sophomore running back for Auburn, had to sit and watch the horrifying reports of the havoc Hurricane Harvey was wreaking on Texas. Few areas were hit harder than Port Arthur, Martin’s hometown. The aftermath was devastating for Martin.
His family’s home was flooded, with no electricity and dwindling supplies. And it left Martin’s aunt, Sarah Henry, without a way to make it to her weekly dialysis appointments. It claimed her life as a result; she died at the age of 59.
With all the other pressing, more heart-wrenching issues going on in his life, Auburn’s opener against Georgia Southern should have been the last thing on Martin’s mind.
But he used the game as a form of tribute to his family and his hometown, one badly in need of some semblance of good news.
“When my opportunities come, I have to make plays,” Martin said. “All week I’ve been practicing to just get in there and make plays.”
And he did.
The Tigers’ backfield depth had already taken a hit before the game, as it was announced starter Kamryn Pettway was suspended. Then, starter Kerryon Johnson left in the second quarter with a hamstring injury and didn’t return. Though Johnson could not do anything further physically, he made sure to find Martin as soon as he got to the sideline.
“He said he trusted me and he believed in me,” Martin said. “Just go in there and make plays.”
Saturday was Martin’s second 100-yard rushing game; he had 176 yards on 21 carries last season against Alabama A&M.
Martin took those words to heart, responding with a superlative effort as he carried 14 times for 136 yards — punctuated by a 36-yard score in the second quarter — in the Tigers’ 41-7 victory.
“Kam Martin came in and did a very good job,” Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said in his postgame press conference. “I was pleased that the other running backs got some work, too. It was good to see that.”
What made the performance even more memorable for Martin was that his parents, Howard and Marion Harris, were in the stands.
They were able to make the dicey trek from Port Arthur to Auburn once the floodwaters had receded enough to get back on the road. They arrived just after 2 a.m. local time Friday. According to the Associated Press, Auburn arranged a hotel room for the family for Friday and Saturday night.
Martin’s superb outing made the treacherous trip worth it.
“We were just coming down to kind of get away from all the sadness in Port Arthur,” Marion Harris told the Associated Press. “We really enjoyed ourselves.”
As Martin’s family returns to Port Arthur to begin rebuilding their lives, Martin’s standing on the Tigers’ depth chart is murky. Pettway will return Saturday from his suspension and regain his starting job. And during his weekly press conference Tuesday, Malzahn would only reveal Johnson hadn’t practiced Sunday, saying it would be later in the week until he knew more about the junior’s availability for this week’s game at No. 3 Clemson. Malzahn even refused to say that Martin would back up Pettway, noting redshirt freshman Malik Miller is “in the mix,” too.
Not knowing an exact role week-to-week isn’t ideal for any player.
But after what Martin has been through the past week, that type of concern won’t come close to fazing him.
Ryan Black covers Georgia football for SaturdayDownSouth.com. Follow him on Twitter @RyanABlack.
