Martin said the Ponies' multi-receiver sets will benefit the running game by forcing defenses to play off the line (photo by Webmaster).

Two years ago, DeMyron Martin wasn’t at his best. He had bulked up after his promising freshman season, but acquired as much of his size at the dinner table as in the weight room. He was mired in a system that used him largely as a battering ram, and ended up missing five games with injuries.

Two years later, Martin barely resembles his former self. His 6-foot-2-inch frame still carries about 230 pounds, but now more of the weight has moved north, into his heavily muscled shoulders and arms. He’s stronger and leaner than since before he arrived at SMU; strength and conditioning coach Vic Viloria said Martin has taken a leadership role this offseason in the weight room.

But now that Martin has given himself the best chance, at least physically, to run the ball, does the offense still fit his skills?

Martin says — emphatically — that the offense brought to SMU by new head coach June Jones is ideal for his skills, and insists that the notion that Jones-coached teams don’t run the ball is inaccurate.

“Everybody thinks they never ran the ball, but that’s not true,” Martin said. “They might have 80 plays and throw the ball 60 times, but that’s still running the ball for 20 plays. You can win with that.”

Martin said the running backs worked more on pass blocking this spring than they have since he got to SMU (photo by Travis Johnston).

More than the mere presence of a running game, Martin said the running game will benefit from the attention opposing defenses put on the passing game.

“When you throw the ball as much as they did last year at Hawaii, the defense has to think pass first,” he said. “We’ll have receivers running all over the field, and they’ll have to play back, or they won’t have a chance to cover everyone. Do that, and then there’s running room at the line.”

One of the primary differences between his role in the offense Jones and running backs coach Wes Suan are teaching centers on pass blocking … by running backs, as well as by the offensive line.

“We didn’t do much of that before,” Martin said. “We blocked when we had to, but this spring, we (the running backs) spent a lot of time in practice working with the offensive line. Coach Suan and (offensive line) Coach (Dennis) McKnight are perfectionists, and they worked with us on our footwork, where to put our hands. We never worked on blocking as much as we did this spring.”

Martin said the idea that June Jones' offense doesn't utilize the run is inaccurate (photo by Travis Johnston).

Martin also credited Suan with accelerating the running backs’ learning curve as they absorb the new offense by creating an atmosphere in which learning and improvement are fostered.

“(Suan) is a lot like Coach Jones,” Martin said. “They’re the kind of coaches who know how to teach. They make you feel comfortable to mess up, because when you make a mistake, you ask questions. Usually, when you mess something up, you tense up and worry about doing it right the next time.

“With Coach Suan, it’s not like that. He’s a great teacher, and he makes it fun. It’s like working out with your older brother. You know how when you’re a little kid, you always want to be around your big brother? He’s like that big brother. He knows what he’s doing, and he makes it fun enough that you always want to be around him.”

Another significant difference for Martin is that he won’t be the only — or even the largest — running back in the Ponies’ backfield in 2008. Former tight end and certifiable special teams kamikaze Andrew McKinney — all 6-foot-4 and 260 pounds of him — is joining Martin in the backfield.

Of defenses which will have to face Martin and Andrew McKinney (45) in the backfield, Martin says "This game wasn’t set up to be fair" (photo by Travis Johnston).

“McKinney is a little crazy — he was my freshman roommate — but that works,” Martin said. “We’ll be great together back there. I’m about 230, and he’s about 260 or something. Coach Suan always works with us to make defensive players miss, so they have to arm-tackle. How many guys are going to be able to arm-tackle guys our size?”

Because Jones’ new SMU offense employs so many receivers, defenses will be forced to drop back into nickel and dime coverages, leaving a diminished front seven — or often front six — to tangle with the combined 490 pounds of running backs the Ponies will put on the field.

“We’re almost 500 pounds between us, and that’s not fair,” Martin said, laughing. “That’s OK — it’s not supposed to be fair. This game wasn’t set up to be fair.

“I don’t care how many carries I get. If I can pass-block all day and we win — that’s all I want.”