#22 Deuce Vaughn — It was a BOLD move for incoming transfer running back Antonio Martin Jr. to take on the No. 22 jersey of Christopher “Deuce” Vaughn the Second. | Photo by Matthew Visinsky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

In which BracketCat counts down the 22nd day until the 2025 kickoff with a profile of Kansas State running back Antonio Martin Jr.

#22 Antonio Martin Jr.

True Junior | 5-9 | 222 lbs. | Atlanta, Georgia

Position: Running Back
Previous Colleges: Georgia Institute of Technology; Blinn College; Southeastern Louisiana University
Projection: Third-String
Status: On Scholarship?

Antonio Martin Jr. (b. Dec. 2, 2003) is an FCS transfer running back from Southeastern Louisiana who is majoring in humanities. He will serve as our “power back” in 2025 and is vying with Monterrio Elston Jr., JB Price and DeVon Rice to be the No. 3 back overall.

Martin actually got his start at Georgia Tech, where he redshirted and did not play in 2022.

He then transferred to Blinn, where he saw time in eight games in 2023, rushing for 643 yards and five touchdowns on 119 carries, ranking 10th nationally in rushing yards per game at 80.4, and earning all-conference honors.

Martin totaled 171 yards at Cisco, while he had 118 yards against New Mexico Military — including a season long of 50 yards — and 114 yards against Trinity Valley.

Last season, he played for Southeastern Louisiana, where he saw time in 12 games with nine starts, totaling 1,228 yards and 11 touchdowns on 230 attempts, while he also hauled in 20 receptions for 74 yards.

Martin was named a finalist for the Walter Payton Award, which honors the top offensive player in the Football Championship Subdivision, and an All-Southland First Team honoree.

He ranked 12th in the FCS with 102.3 rushing yards per game, while he was 14th in total rushing yards and 35th in all-purpose yards per game (108.5).

Martin’s best game of last year came at Tarleton State, where he rushed for 206 yards and three touchdowns on 32 carries en route to Southland Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors. His 206 yards against the Texans tied for the 12th most in the FCS for a single game and his three touchdowns tied for 13th.

Martin also tallied 100-yard rushing games against Eastern Washington (149 yards), East Texas A&M (185 yards) and Northwestern State (110 yards). He had a pair of touchdowns against both East Texas A&M — including the game-winning score — and Lamar.

Last December, Martin elected to transfer to Louisiana-Monroe, where he participated in spring practices before entering the post-spring portal and ultimately choosing the Cats.

He prepped under head coach Daniel Williams at Langston Hughes (Ga.) High School in Atlanta, where he was regarded as the 256th-best overall prospect in the nation for the Class of 2022 by ESPN, which rated him the 21st-best running back.

Martin also was viewed as the 22nd-best running back in the class by Rivals after he ran for 1,114 yards and 16 touchdowns in 12 games as a senior in 2021, leading the Panthers to the state championship game and earning first-team all-state honors from the Georgia Athletic Coaches Association and honorable mention accolades from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He also picked up first-team all-region honors.

Martin ran for 166 yards and two touchdowns in a one-point loss in the state title game.

He originally chose Georgia Tech out of high school over an impressive set of offers from Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Duke, East Carolina, Florida, Florida State, Georgia State, Kentucky, Louisville, Maryland, Miami, Michigan State, Ole Miss, Penn State, Pittsburgh, South Carolina, Tennessee, UAB and West Virginia, as well as interest from Michigan.

Martin then picked Southeastern Louisiana out of Blinn over an offer from Alabama State.

Here is what new offensive coordinator Matt Wells had to say in June about Martin’s talents:

Antonio Martin, I’m excited to see him in training camp and how physical of a runner he is and needs to be for us.