Noah Martin: Path To The NFL Draft
By Simon Carroll
NFL Draft prospects are often asked if they love football. It’s a team’s way of understanding if the person they are investing in is ready to give everything they have to the cause, because amongst the elite the game has to offer, just liking the sport is simply not good enough.
For Noah Martin, football has been life for as long as he can remember. And his commitment to the sport – and the team that took a chance on him – is beyond question. The former Samford linebacker sits down with Simon Carroll to discuss his path to the NFL Draft:
Faith, Family and Football
As far as locations go, Chattanooga, Tennessee is as central to the football-mad Southeast of America as you can get. Situated almost perfectly equidistant between hotbeds Atlanta, Knoxville, Nashville and Birmingham, it was no surprise that Noah Martin turned to the sport from an early age. If ‘Family, Faith and Football’ is the mantra around these parts, Martin had a healthy dose of all three:
“I grew up in Chattanooga. My dad is a pastor, he’s been involved with the ministry my whole life, and my mom – she used to be his secretary before becoming a college advisor. So I was always around the church. But before that, my dad was actually a college athlete himself, played basketball at Tennessee Temple University – and my mom was also a cheerleader there! So you could say I come from an athletic family, it was always a big thing. I automatically played sports all the way growing up.”
Noah Martin was built to play football. That’s not to say he didn’t try his hand at other sports, but it soon became apparent that his size and physicality were destined for the gridiron – even if he had to wait patiently to really let loose:
“I played soccer until I was ten, enjoyed basketball, but I played football since I was six. And I never played flag, was straight into tackle football. And it soon became my main thing. People were complaining I was too big, too physical for soccer! I did everything – track and field, you name it. But football was always my main love. I was always a big kid, so I tended to play in the trenches or at linebacker. I preferred it on defense; I was too big to be a running back! And there was a weight limit to carrying the ball, but there wasn’t one to catch the ball, so I played a bit of tight end in fifth grade too. The only thing was, I was so big, that after I had caught the ball, I had to go down right there! When I got to middle school I was allowed to do a lot more on offense, but linebacker was always the position for me.”
If football was a staple diet of many people’s youth in these parts, perhaps Martin’s home life was a little less ordinary. With a pastor for a father, Noah was able to experience outreach work in exotic locations – and polish up on some surprising language skills in the process:
“My father served a couple of years as a missionary. And he would take short-term overseas trips, maybe a week long, where he would go to communities and help with whatever they needed. I think I went on five of those trips with him; The Dominican Republic twice, Costa Rica, Panama, Peru. And I speak Spanish fairly fluently – it’s not perfect, but throw me in a hispanic country I would be fine. So that last trip, we would be building bunk beds for big families that would be sharing just one bed, whilst also serving as a translator too! It was a real unique opportunity for me to be able to be hands on, give back, and hone my language skills all in one go. Missions like that really put things in perspective.”
High School Dominance
A budding star, Noah Martin was keen to pursue football at high school. Heading to the Baylor School in Chattanooga allowed him to do just that. Martin enjoyed basketball and track, yet it was his football ability that allowed him to play for the Red Raiders, a school privileged to compete against some of the best schools in the state. He naturally would take any opportunity to step on the field, but it was working with a former pro at linebacker that allowed Noah to take his game to the next level:
“I definitely didn’t think I’d be able to go to a private school, but football opened that doorway for me. It was a huge opportunity, because The Baylor School, it played in a high level league with incredible talent coming out of it. So that standard obviously helped me improve my game. Even then I was playing both sides of the ball. Quite enjoyed fullback – you know, I didn’t care, I’d just go out there and smack into somebody, block, whatever was needed. But at linebacker I was really coming on; I had a great coach in Eric Westmoreland, who played in the NFL for four years. His wisdom really helped me.”
We laugh a little about this big behemoth linebacker in front of me carving out a role on offense and the fear that must have spread through opposing defenses. Martin, to his credit, always knew his forever home was on the other side of the ball, though he was proud to tell me that as a freshman he faced now Minnesota Viking running back Ty Chandler – and outrushed him. His final ever carry in his career was a 70-yard touchdown run. And yet, these fun anecdotes get blown away by Martin’s sheer dominance on defense: As a senior, he’s named team captain and registers 110 tackles, 3 interceptions, and 4 touchdowns. Martin is named an all-region selection and conference MVP. Despite this success, he didn’t really put much focus on a college career until his last game at The Baylor School had ended:
“I didn’t really know much about college football, I just loved to play the game back in high school. But then Samford happened.”
Selecting Samford
Despite his remarkable high school success, Noah Martin’s recruiting experience was not quite as fierce as you would expect. Focusing on the football at every turn, Martin remains philosophical about this time of his football journey, acknowledging that all things aren’t equal when it comes to recruiting:
“Everyone knows about the four and five stars, they get a lot of attention. It’s a lot different for the two stars like me. But honestly, I didn’t pay attention to it too much. I probably could have helped get my name out there, go to those Rivals camps and things like that, but it wasn’t something I focused on. My high school coach helped me out, told me ‘if you put it on film, if you’re good enough, they’ll come find you’. So that became my mentality – just focus on my team and my game. Of course it would have been a dream to be courted by Tennessee, but honestly: I just wanted to play football for as long as I could.”
Despite muting his college ambitions until his high school career was done, Martin was aware of growing interest in his services. He had options, and whilst he took nothing for granted, there was one non-negotiable when it came to choosing his next footballing home:
“I got my first offers after my sophomore season, from Austin Peay and UAB. At that point, you know it’s a real thing, that I could play at the next level. Then it starts picking up my next two years, a lot of offers from mostly FCS schools. Of course I held out a little hoping something a little bigger might happen; there was some interest from Louisville, but only as a preferred walkon. For me, my family is fine, but I didn’t want them to have to pay for me to get an education. I wanted my football to do that – a full ride is a big deal. So that narrowed down my options.”
A standout student as well as a football star, Martin was courting a handful of Ivy League schools alongside widespread FCS interest, including invites to Harvard and Yale. These esteemed seats of learning don’t offer football scholarships, meaning they fell outside of Noah’s requirements – but it is a source of pride to him to have fielded such offers and is a testament to his work ethic off the field as well as on it. In the end, one school stood out on all fronts above the rest, leading Martin two hours south to Birmingham, Alabama:
“Samford actually came in late. They were my last offer, and at that time I was almost sold on Wofford. But they’d gone a bit quiet, I got an invite to go to Samford, loved the place, and committed a couple of days later. It just felt right. I was just happy to be given a shot to play, and I think I took full advantage of that shot.”
With Samford in the Southern Conference – the same conference as Chattanooga – I ask Martin if there was any interest shown in him from his hometown team. UTC did speak to him on a couple of occasions, even invited him to a game. But when he got there, they had neither tickets nor a name tag ready for him. It was a visit that left a sour taste in Martin’s mouth, and he never forgot it:
“I definitely held a special place in my heart, whenever I got to play Chattanooga”.
"I Can Play Here"
With his decision to head to Samford locked in, Noah Martin’s college career gets off to a tough start as the world is rocked by the global Coronavirus pandemic. Naturally, it was a different experience to the one that Martin had expected at the time of his commitment:
“It was a difficult time. I’m not a huge homebody – I love my family but I’m okay being away and being alone. But with COVID, it was crazy. Our start date kept getting pushed back, but we finally get down there, and our parents had to drop us off and leave immediately. So I’m in my room with my roommate, didn’t know each other, but for the first three days we couldn’t even leave our room. They would bring you food, and you had to isolate, do your COVID testing. That was an intense introduction to college life!”
Welcome to Samford! Whilst every college in America was dealing with the same terrifying scenario, it’s easy to forget how institutions had to scramble to try and prioritize the health of their students, and the restrictions these young adults had to live with. Martin used the chaos as an opportunity, setting himself up to be more than ready for when the world returned to normality:
“Once we started getting going in the Fall, it wasn’t long before they cancelled the season. That threw everyone into a whirlwind, including the coaching staff who had to adjust. Fall became like Spring practice, doing conditioning work, sprints in pads and stuff like that. But that delayed intro did allow me to learn the playbook, and I mean religiously learn it. I’m big on that anyway, knowing all the plays, everyone’s role on them and not just my own. Any way I can give myself an advantage out there, help me anticipate in any way despite playing in a very reactive position.”
The work paid off almost immediately. Martin was able to show his command of the playbook from day one, and convince coaches he was ready to step in when needed. When he got his shot, he took it:
“So fast forward to the Spring, and I was ready. I started as a four on the depth chart, and by the end of Spring I was the backup middle linebacker. I had some special teams duties, but when the starter got injured in the first game, I was ready to step up. My first or second play I got a sack. It was that very moment that I thought ‘I can play here’. And I think my coaches quickly believed it too. They trusted me to start in my teammates’ absence, and slowly increased my snaps as the season went on.”
Dedication To Improvement
🔴BEST LB IN FCS FOOTBALL🔴
— Coach Coop (@CoachCoopp) December 13, 2024
#🥇Graded Linebacker in All FCS 93.8 %
#🥇Graded Linebacker in Socon 93.8%
#🥇Graded Run defender in Fcs 96.6 %
🤷🏽♂️ Who is the Next HUNTING DOG ❓
🍢 He Hunted Weekly 🍢🍢🍢🍢🍢#MambaMentality #MambaOut pic.twitter.com/wscCbqWWDt
From that moment on, Noah Martin would become one of the most prolific linebackers in the Southern Conference. Over the next four years he would amass an incredible 389 tackles, taking his career numbers to 424. You can add to that 40 tackles for loss, 8.5 sacks, and four interceptions. I ask Martin what he considers his greatest achievement during his time at Samford. With classic humility, he points to team success over personal accolades:
“Team-wise, 2022 was the high point of my time there. I love the guys on that team, and we all look back on that season with pride. One of my teammates was the best man at my wedding, so that tells you the kind of bond we had. I was able to lead the team in tackles, and winning the conference was a special moment. To get to the quarter-finals of the playoffs and be as close as we were, it was an awesome experience.”
We discuss the end of the 2022 season, which could be considered the ‘halfway stage’ in Martin’s Samford career. He’s put himself on the map at this point, and I wonder if it has yet occurred to him that there could be a chance at playing pro football in his future. Unsurprisingly, Martin stuck to his priorities and the advice of his high school head coach: stay focused, ball out, and the opportunities will come:
“I’m an accounting guy. I know the stats behind making it to the NFL, and they’re very slim. So I always harbored that ambition in the back of my mind, but never got carried away with it. 2022 was a great year for me, but I made it a distant memory quickly. I didn’t want to ever stop getting better. I loved playing this sport and I didn’t ever want to take it for granted. So I committed to playing in the moment, enjoying myself, doing everything I could to be a great player and teammate, and let the future sort itself out when it came.”
That tried and trusted recipe for success continued to bring dividends, and Martin would go on to finish his college career in style. As well as the gaudy numbers, he would earn a string of accolades the next two seasons, including All-Conference nominations and All-American awards. As his time on campus finally came to an end, Martin allowed himself to take the blinkers off and consider what was next:
“I just kept on doing it, kept on getting better. And after the 2023 season little suggestions of the chance to continue playing kept popping up; I had some interest from teams abroad, agents taking notice, people started talking about it. But I stuck to the plan, went into my senior year with the same mentality of continuous improvement. I wasn’t going to allow myself to believe the noise and let it affect me. It was only as I was having another strong season when Chris and Sara at OTG Sports Agency got in touch that I thought the NFL was a real possibility.”
Accounting & Accountability
Considering the focus, loyalty and integrity Noah Martin had displayed throughout his career, I knew it was a foolish question the minute I opened my mouth. But in the modern world of transfer portals and NIL opportunities, I had to know if he had ever considered playing his final year elsewhere. The answer was unsurprisingly resolute:
“Everyone knows that prospects from the bigger schools, like in the SEC, will have more exposure and a greater chance of playing in front of NFL scouts. But for me, I’m a guy that’s big on commitment. Once I’ve committed to something, I’m in until the end. Just like my marriage – I’m going to be with Kaitlyn for the rest of my life. Samford took a chance on me, so there was never any thought of transferring – even though I did get some interest from FBS schools like Marshall and Northern Illinois. As cool as that was, as well as the chance to make some NIL money, it was never really something I seriously considered. I would have succeeded at those schools, but Samford is special to me, and always will be. I wanted to leave it in a better shape than when I found it.”
Now his time at Samford is over, Martin is fully invested in his footballing future. If the opportunity to keep playing is real, he will exhaust all ways to do so. With that said, Noah is too smart not to have a contingency plan, and has ambitions of putting his college education to good use:
“I’m committed to football all the way. God has opened that door for me, and I’m running through it until he closes it. I’ve got that perseverance to play this game for as long as possible. But I know that, whether I play ten years in the NFL or zero years in the NFL, one day it’s going to be over. And at that point, I’ll have the rest of my life ahead of me – and I want that secure job in place to help support my wife and my family. So getting my degree at Samford was huge – and I was always going to finish that. I thought I was going to hate accounting, but four years later I’ve got a masters in the subject! I’m studying 124 hours on taxation and regulations for the CPA exam, trained for an internship in Chicago, and have a job lined up here in Birmingham. And if my NFL dream comes to fruition, they will delay my start date for as long as needed. But eventually, I will go into that industry.”
Thoughts of Carl Nassib on Hard Knocks teaching his teammates the value of compound interest spring immediately to mind. We discuss a niche market for Spanish speaking customers who require financial advice and what the Venn diagram for such a venture would look like. But if you think this is a gimmick, think again – Martin’s CPA exam is the week after the draft, and he intends to spend most of draft weekend studying hard. There simply are no half measures with Noah Martin.
Validating The Stats
As attention turns to the draft process, I try to get a feel for what Noah Martin is focusing on between now and the second week in March, when Samford will have a joint Pro Day with neighbors UAB. Much like with his accounting exam, Martin is taking a fastidious approach to his preparations to make sure he leaves no stone unturned in chasing his dream:
“I want to verify the speed. I’m plenty fast, quick off the ball, with very little wasted movement – and it shows on tape. So I want to validate that film when they come to the pro day with a fast forty time. I don’t want them thinking I was playing slow people! So any opportunity to show my athleticism, my quick feet when running sideways in the shuttle, my hips in the L drill, then also my ability in space. Again, there’s evidence of what I can do in coverage, with interceptions and a pick six on my resume. I want them to see that there’s very little lacking in my game.”
At the time of writing, that gives Martin two months to hone his craft before the biggest interview of his life – well, his football life at least. Attending the CGS All-Star Meetup in Fort Worth in January has given him a taste of working in front of scouts – and he was even able to sit down with one NFL team too:
“I was able to talk to the Lions which was awesome. It only takes one team to fall in love with you! But I also got to talk to the guys from the East-West Shrine Bowl, and whilst I didn’t get invited it was nice to know that they watched my film and loved my game. I take that as a big compliment. But I thought I gave a good account of myself there; it’s not necessarily something you can ‘win’ at, they purposely put you in tough situations. But I handled it well, competed, and was grateful for the opportunity.”
"I Just Want That Shot"
Small glimpse of THE BEST day of my life! pic.twitter.com/IsX8Cjp1Ws
— Noah Martin (@NoahMartin13) January 7, 2025
For now, Noah Martin is both working out and studying back in Birmingham, where he currently lives with his wife. Kaitlyn hails from Indianapolis and a family of Colts fans, but despite my attempt to squeeze a preference out of him he declines to say whether Indy or Nashville would be ideal locations to continue his football career – although he does admit to being a Falcons fan as a child. Martin just wants to play, and much like he did with Samford will fall in love with any location that gives him that chance.
Despite his commitment to studying, he suggests that the final weekend in April will likely be a family affair, particularly on day three when he’s most likely to get a call. If his phone does ring, it’s inevitably going to get emotional:
“It would mean everything. I got a question on a survey recently asking ‘would you be okay if all that work you have poured into football since childhood leads to nothing?’, suggesting how I would take it if this was the end for me. And if that was the case, so be it. But I don’t want it to be – I love this game, and I’m gonna try and play it for as long as I can. Making it to the NFL does validate all that effort, and I just want that shot. I know I can play at the next level and continue to live the dream. To be able to keep doing the thing I love – it would be awesome.”
A huge thank you to Noah for taking the time to talk to us. Everyone at The Touchdown wishes him well in his future career.