Boise State numerical roster countdown 2015: Day 7, Joe Martarano

ONE. MORE. WEEK. How awesome is that?? Let’s get right to it and check in on #7 Joe Martarano.

#7, Joe Martarano, RS Sophomore, MLB

Stats

Height: 6’3"

Weight: 228 lbs

High School: Fruitland High School, Fruitland, ID

How'd he get to the Blue™?

Well he didn’t have to travel far! Joe is a product of the Fruitland High School system that seems to be a pretty good one, and one we go to often. We have 3 FHS grads on the roster in Joe, Alec Dhaenens and Garrett Larson. Not only did we have to stave off offers from Washington State and Nevada, we also had to stave off an entirely other sport! Joe was also the top player in the state in baseball and was drafted by the Cubs this last year. If we had a different coaching staff, he may have been asked to choose. Fortunately for Joe, he was not asked to do so an participated in minor league play earlier this year before joining the team for fall camp. Don’t worry, he’ll be more than ready to play. Joe was listed as a 3-star recruit by Scout, Rivals, ESPN, and 247Sports.

Nickname

"JoeMart"

It’s what I have always called him, so that is what his nickname shall be.

Look-a-like

Bryce Harper

Career Highlights

While Joe was a standout baseball player, we will stick to football here. Joe did it all at Fruitland. He was just the third player in Idaho history to be named to the Parade All-American team as an honorable mention. He helped lead Fruitland to 4 state title games, winning it in 2010. He was named Idaho’s Gatorade Player of the Year, the Idaho 3A State Player of the Year, Snake River Valley Player of the Year on both offense AND defense. On defense, he has 147 tackles, 2 sacks and 4 interceptions and on offense, threw for 1,300 yards and 14 TDs while rushing for 600 yards and 10 more TDs. His junior year was just as productive: 159 tackles, 3 sacks and 2 INTs. As a sophomore, he was named first-team All-Snake River Valley as a linebacker, registering 158 tackles, 7 sacks and 3 INTs. He also threw for 700 yards and 12 TDs to go along with 400 rushing yards and 8 TDs. As for his college career, he played in all 14 games for the Broncos. He recorded 42 tackles, good enough for eighth on the team. He was also named the Boise State Defensive Scout POY his red shirt season.

2015 Prospectus

Joe will most definitely be seeing the field. He would be hard pressed to beat out Tanner Vallejo, but he will definitely see plenty of time on the field in his place. On the outside, we will most likely see a battle between Tyler Gray and Ben Weaver for the starting spot. There was a bit of back and forth last season as Weaver fought the injury bug a bit. Regardless of the starter at either position, the linebackers will be a force this season. Not only do we have Vallejo, Martarano, Weaver and Gray, but we also have Drew Berger, Leighton Vander Esch, Marquis Hendrix, Darren Lee, Will Heffner and Joe Provenzano all waiting in the wings. I do not envy the RBs of the Mountain West…

Is he on Twitter?

He is, and he’s feeling nostalgic.

Debating on when the blonde Mohawk needs to come back. #2k15

— Joey Martarano (@JoeMartarano_2) August 2, 2015

Completely made up fact

Not only was Joe an accomplished athlete, he was also a Nobel Prize winner for discovering that, despite not seeing it, fear is, in fact, palpable.