Vaughn Martin (born April 18, 1986) is a Jamaican-born Canadian former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

. He was selected by the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

in the fourth round of the

2009 NFL draft The 2009 NFL Draft was the seventy-fourth annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 25 and 26, 2009. T ...

, the first Canadian university football player drafted by an NFL team as an underclassman. He played university football at the University of Western Ontario.

Early life

Martin was born in Jamaica and raised in Toronto and London, Ontario. He attended London South Collegiate Institute, playing football for head coach Chris Marcus, and later Mike Stenning. He also attended

The Kiski School , motto_translation = Guide Us Lord , address = 1888 Brett Lane , town = Saltsburg , state = Pennsylvania , zipcode = 15681-8951 , country = Uni ...

under coach Marcus Muster for a short time before transferring. He competed as a linebacker, defensive end,

and

fullback Fullback or Full back may refer to: Sports * A position in various kinds of football, including: ** Full-back (association football), in association football (soccer), a defender playing in a wide position ** Fullback (gridiron football), in Americ ...

in high school, recording 90 tackles with five stops behind the line of scrimmage in 2004. The three-time starter was rated one of the top 12 defensive ends in Ontario by All-Star Football and Weir's Magazine. He also received a two-star prospect rating from '' Rivals.com''. Prior to beginning his collegiate career, Martin competed for two summers with the Forest City Thunderbirds in the Central Ontario Football League. He also was a member of Team Canada, playing in the 2006

NFL Global Junior Championship The NFL Global Junior Championship was played during the week leading up to the Super Bowl, in the same city that is hosting the game. The first game was played in 1997, and only two teams played, Mexico and Europe. Mexico won the first and seco ...

in Detroit. He was named to the NFL Global Junior Championship X All-Tournament Team after helping Team Canada to a perfect 5-0 record, including five shutouts.

University career

Martin turned down scholarship offers from the University of Toledo, the University at Buffalo, and Ohio University to enroll at

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

in 2006, but failed to qualify due to academic transcript issues. He then enrolled at

Milford Academy Milford Academy is a post-secondary school founded in 1916 as Yale Preparatory School. It has been located in New Berlin, New York since 2004. Although founded as a preparatory school, its current focus is as a school for athletes who have th ...

, a preparatory school in New York. He later returned home to Ontario, where University of Western Ontario assistant coach Mickey Donovan along with special teams coach Chris Marcus — Vaughn's high-school coach and mentor — convinced him to enroll. Martin joined the Western Ontario Mustangs football team and saw action at defensive tackle and end during his first season. In 2008, Martin performed mostly at defensive tackle earlier in the year, but he also at defensive end. In 12 games, he collected 36 tackles (22 solos) with 3.5 sacks, 7.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage and 13 pressures. He returned an interception for a touchdown, registered a safety, caused a fumble and recovered two others. He also played fullback, where he scored twice on a pair of 3-yard rushing attempts, finishing with 10 yards on four carries.

Professional career

Pre-draft

Martin was not invited to the 2009 NFL Scouting Combine, but impressed several pro scouts in the spring of 2009 when he participated at the University of Michigan's Pro Day, where he ran a 4.96 second 40-yard dash at 330 pounds. He also set the 2009 draft class bench press record, lifting 225 pounds 44 times.

San Diego Chargers

Martin became the first

CIS football U Sports football is the highest level of amateur play of Canadian football and operates under the auspices of U Sports (formerly Canadian Interuniversity Sport). Twenty-seven teams from Canadian universities are divided into four athletic confer ...

player drafted as an underclassman when he was picked in the fourth round, 113th overall, by the

in the

. Martin signed a four-year contract with the Chargers in July 2009. Athletic and intelligent—he scored an impressive 38 on the NFL's Wonderlic Test—scouts also report that he has the bulk, strength, and agility to become a nose tackle like

Jamal Williams Jamal Williams (born April 28, 1976) is an American former professional football player who was a nose tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for thirteen seasons. He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the second round of the 1998 ...

. He recorded his first career sack on November 22, 2010, against the Denver Broncos, sacking quarterback

Kyle Orton Kyle Raymond Orton (born November 14, 1982) is a former American football quarterback. He played college football for Purdue, where he started four straight bowl games. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the fourth round of the 2005 NFL Dr ...

. On May 8, 2011, the Montreal Alouettes selected Vaughn Martin in the 5th round of the

2011 CFL Draft The 2011 CFL Draft took place on Sunday, May 8, 2011 at 12:30 PM ET on TSN. 47 players were chosen from among eligible players from Canadian Universities across the country, as well as Canadian players playing in the NCAA. The Toronto Argonauts, ...

. His rights belonged to the Alouettes if Martin choose to pursue a career in the CFL.

Miami Dolphins

Martin signed with the Miami Dolphins as a free agent on March 28, 2013. On November 8, 2013, he was released.

Detroit Lions

Martin signed with the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

on March 13, 2014. He was released on June 2, 2014.

Kansas City Chiefs

Martin signed with the Kansas City Chiefs in February 2015. He was released on August 30, 2015.

Montreal Alouettes

Martin signed a two-year contract with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League on February 10, 2016. Martin played in seven games during the

2016 CFL season The 2016 CFL season was the 63rd season of modern-day Canadian football. Officially, it was the 59th Canadian Football League season. Toronto hosted the 104th Grey Cup on November 27. The regular season began on June 23 and ended on November 5. ...

before being released in August, about halfway through the season.

References

External links

Detroit Lions bioSan Diego Chargers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Vaughn 1987 births Living people Jamaican emigrants to Canada Jamaican players of Canadian football Players of Canadian football from Ontario Canadian football people from London, Ontario Jamaican players of American football Black Canadian players of American football American football defensive tackles American football defensive ends Canadian football defensive linemen Western Mustangs football players San Diego Chargers players Miami Dolphins players Detroit Lions players Kansas City Chiefs players Montreal Alouettes players People from Hanover Parish Players of American football from Ontario