Jartavius Quan Martin (born April 17, 2000) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are ...

for the

Washington Commanders The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) E ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

for the

Illinois Fighting Illini The Illinois Fighting Illini () are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The university offers 10 men's and 11 women's varsity sports. The University operates a number of athletic faci ...

and was selected by the Commanders in the second round of the

2023 NFL draft The 2023 NFL Draft will be the 88th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players. The draft is scheduled to be held in the plaza outside of Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri, on April 27–29, ...

Early life

Martin was born on April 17, 2000, in

Lehigh Acres, Florida Lehigh Acres is an unincorporated area and Municipality, Municipal District in Lee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 Census the population was 135,272. Lehigh Acres is part of the Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Flo ...

. He attended

Lehigh Senior High School Lehigh Senior High School is located in Lehigh Acres, Florida, a suburb of Fort Myers. It is one of the largest high schools in Lee County. The current principal is Jackie Corey. It is part of the Lee County School District. Lehigh currently has ...

, where he recorded 38 tackles and two interceptions for their football team. Martin was rated a three-star recruit and committed to play

for the

Fighting Illini The Illinois Fighting Illini () are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The university offers 10 men's and 11 women's varsity sports. The University operates a number of athletic faci ...

at the

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...

College career

Martin moved to

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

as a freshman and became a starter early on. Martin was moved back to safety in 2021. He finished the season with 55 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, one interception, seven passes broken up, and one forced fumble. Martin used the extra year of eligibility granted to college athletes in 2020 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

and returned for a fifth season in 2022.

Professional career

Martin was selected by the

in the second round (47th overall) of the

. He signed a four-year, $7.6 million contract on July 22, 2023. In Week 9, he had a game-sealing interception against the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

. In the final game of the 2023 season, Martin recorded his second career interception against

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

quarterback,

Dak Prescott Rayne Dakota Prescott (born July 29, 1993) is an American football quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Mississippi State, where he twice received first-team All- SEC honors, a ...

Personal life

Martin goes by his

middle name In various cultures, a middle name is a portion of a personal name that is written between the person's first given name and their surname. A middle name is often abbreviated and is then called middle initial or just initial. A person may be ...

Quan. He works as an unofficial team

barber A barber is a person whose occupation is mainly to cut, dress, groom, style and shave men's and boys' hair or beards. A barber's place of work is known as a "barbershop" or a "barber's". Barbershops are also places of social interaction and publi ...

for the teams he plays for; he learned the profession by watching videos on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

during the 2020

COVID-19 lockdowns Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of non-pharmaceutical interventions colloquially known as lockdowns (encompassing stay-at-home orders, curfews, quarantines, and similar societal restrictions) have been implemented in numerous countrie ...

References

External links

Washington CommandersIllinois Fighting Illini bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Quan Living people Players of American football from Lee County, Florida American football safeties American football cornerbacks Illinois Fighting Illini football players 2000 births Washington Commanders players Lehigh Senior High School alumni American football defensive backs