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I have information regarding a source inside the team that the special teams unit was an absolute disaster last year due to Josh Martin. It was common knowledge amongst the playing group and coaches that he was incapable of doing his job. Sackville who was available to play in four games at the end of the year and was healthy (and the only person on the roster who was capable of punting) was available for selection against Memphis and every game after that but Martin refused which lost the team 2 games against quality opponents. He got kicked off kickoff after Memphis because of his inability to do his job and it should come as no surprise that if the players don't like their coach (especially a special teams coach) running down as fast as you can only to hit your head against a wall doesn't sound as appealing compared to doing it for a coach you respect and know has your back.

He has been described as 'fake' and someone who "doesn't have our best interests at heart" according to members of the team. He mismanaged the special teams group as a whole. Players didn't want to play for him, coaches didn't trust his ability to coach and it cost the team dearly.He had no idea how to build any type of continuity within the special teams units which was very evident with the amount of missed field goals and PAT's. It is ultimately the coaches job to put his players in the best situations possible to succeed. This was most definitely not the case with Josh Martin. We couldn't kick off last year and the answer for that is simple. It's pretty hard to find a guy in the fall when you pay ZERO attention in the spring. It's also difficult to expect 3 different walk ons to kick off when none of them are strong enough to do so. He chose not to bring Sackville back for this upcoming season despite him having a year remaining and already enrolled in graduate school only to lose his own duties as special teams coach 6 weeks later.

Martin is a clown. Plain and simple and the dude should be fired for how he coached and treated players last season.

That's unfortunate but one phase of the game is not all it took for Memphis and Navy to win. If the defense gets more stops or if the offense scores more touchdowns then it's a different game. It's how it goes.

malonish wrote:That's unfortunate but one phase of the game is not all it took for Memphis and Navy to win. If the defense gets more stops or if the offense scores more touchdowns then it's a different game. It's how it goes.

97 yard kickoff for TD by Memphis to start the second half ended up being HUGE.

PonySnob wrote:

malonish wrote:That's unfortunate but one phase of the game is not all it took for Memphis and Navy to win. If the defense gets more stops or if the offense scores more touchdowns then it's a different game. It's how it goes.

97 yard kickoff for TD by Memphis to start the second half ended up being HUGE.

Not to Mention how terrible the punt team was all day. We didn't stand a chance due to our safety punting the ball 25 yards when we had a scholarship punter that wasnt even brought on the trip despite being healthy and ready to go with three years of game experience in the biggest game SMU had played in a decade...

Clearly, Coach Dykes saw the problem, moved Martin to TE coach full time, and moved Brasfield to Special Teams Coordinator. I expect that next season we will see significant improvements.

JasonB wrote:Clearly, Coach Dykes saw the problem, moved Martin to TE coach full time, and moved Brasfield to Special Teams Coordinator. I expect that next season we will see significant improvements.

Too little too late. He shouldn't have been hired in the first place. Doesn't care for his players, has no idea how to relate to them and is incapable of treating people with respect.

PonySnob wrote:

malonish wrote:That's unfortunate but one phase of the game is not all it took for Memphis and Navy to win. If the defense gets more stops or if the offense scores more touchdowns then it's a different game. It's how it goes.

97 yard kickoff for TD by Memphis to start the second half ended up being HUGE.

Right, but then the other 29 minutes of the half happened. It's not zero but it's not the only thing that happened all night.

No matter how it happens, if we want to take the next step we need to see a lot of improvement on teams.

DanFreibergerForHeisman wrote:No matter how it happens, if we want to take the next step we need to see a lot of improvement on teams.

Exactly. What they should've done is keep sackville and bring in a grad transfer kicker and kickoff guy and have a coach that can actually put them in situations to succeed. But now they have no punter, no kicker and no kickoff guy.

Mrs. Sackville I presume?

OP has a very clear axe to grind. Not to say all of what was said was wrong....but there is a clear agenda and it is obviously hard to look at the post objectively. Oh, and if you think we were on the same level as Memphis (despite what the final score said) and it was only ST that lost that game- you don't know football.

Navy was a winnable game, but ST was the last thing that prevented us from winning. Reference our 3rd quarter play calling.

Sounds like this comes from Sackville, or at least a friend/family member. Maybe Martin had some feeling about continuity with the others? Isn't Martin's dad also a bigshot among Texas high school coaches? If so, that is not an insignificant connection for the staff.

Does the coverage change when you go from a traditional punter to a sidewinder like Sackville? I don't know. More than anything, it sounds like the original post is about lost graduate school, and if so, that's a shame. Good luck wherever you end up, Jamie.

Interested to see how the special teams look under Coach Brasfield.

Appears Sackville still hasn't found a home

https://247sports.com/college/smu/Seaso ... ferPortal/

Vitale wrote:Sounds like this comes from Sackville, or at least a friend/family member. Maybe Martin had some feeling about continuity with the others? Isn't Martin's dad also a bigshot among Texas high school coaches? If so, that is not an insignificant connection for the staff.

Does the coverage change when you go from a traditional punter to a sidewinder like Sackville? I don't know. More than anything, it sounds like the original post is about lost graduate school, and if so, that's a shame. Good luck wherever you end up, Jamie.

Interested to see how the special teams look under Coach Brasfield.

I have no affiliation with him. Just a fan who loves special teams that appreciates the often forgotten phase of the game. I too hope that Brasfield does a great job and we don't suffer the same disappointment as fans as we did last season.

ST_Enthusiast wrote:I have information regarding a source inside the team that the special teams unit was an absolute disaster last year due to Josh Martin. It was common knowledge amongst the playing group and coaches that he was incapable of doing his job. Sackville who was available to play in four games at the end of the year and was healthy (and the only person on the roster who was capable of punting) was available for selection against Memphis and every game after that but Martin refused which lost the team 2 games against quality opponents. He got kicked off kickoff after Memphis because of his inability to do his job and it should come as no surprise that if the players don't like their coach (especially a special teams coach) running down as fast as you can only to hit your head against a wall doesn't sound as appealing compared to doing it for a coach you respect and know has your back.

He has been described as 'fake' and someone who "doesn't have our best interests at heart" according to members of the team. He mismanaged the special teams group as a whole. Players didn't want to play for him, coaches didn't trust his ability to coach and it cost the team dearly.He had no idea how to build any type of continuity within the special teams units which was very evident with the amount of missed field goals and PAT's. It is ultimately the coaches job to put his players in the best situations possible to succeed. This was most definitely not the case with Josh Martin. We couldn't kick off last year and the answer for that is simple. It's pretty hard to find a guy in the fall when you pay ZERO attention in the spring. It's also difficult to expect 3 different walk ons to kick off when none of them are strong enough to do so. He chose not to bring Sackville back for this upcoming season despite him having a year remaining and already enrolled in graduate school only to lose his own duties as special teams coach 6 weeks later.

Martin is a clown. Plain and simple and the dude should be fired for how he coached and treated players last season.

Consider that axe well and truly ground.