Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/216396
Irish Ironman Zack Martin will set a Notre Dame record for consecutive starts in his final regular-season game F By Dan Murphy ifth-year senior Zack Martin ambled across the floor of Notre Dame's Isban Auditorium in the middle of the team's recent bye week and tucked himself into a familiar chair in the front corner of the room. It was a Wednesday, and on Wednesdays in the fall Martin talks to the media. He has nearly each week for the last two years while serving as the team's 18th two-time captain. The Irish, battered from a recent loss to Pittsburgh, weren't scheduled to practice that day. But Martin and fellow veteran Chris Watt collected the offensive linemen and ran through a few drills anyway. It was a weekday, and on weekdays in the fall Martin practices. The 6-4, 308-pound left tackle is a creature of habit, a preacher of consistency. Martin will take the field against Stanford Nov. 30 for his final regularseason game as a Notre Dame lineman. It's game day, and on game days — 50 of them in a row after Notre Dame's game against BYU Nov. 23 — Martin takes the field. His first snap against the Cardinal will push Martin past former Irish lineman Sam Young as the program's all-time leader in career starts. Since taking the field as a sophomore in Brian Kelly's debut as head coach, Martin hasn't missed a game. Barring his first injury, he will leave Notre Dame with 52 consecutive starts — a school record that can't be broken unless college football expands to a 13-game regular-season schedule. Martin can't remember the last time he's missed a football game. "Not here. … Never missed a game in high school. I don't know if I did in grade school either," he said before pausing to search his memory. "Maybe never." To build a streak of that length takes a perfect storm of talent, luck and preparation. Mostly, though, Martin and those around the program say his longevity comes from the clockwork-like consistency that is starting to leave a permanent mark on the Irish offensive line. Martin said he learned early in his time in South Bend that he needed