Martin on the PB&J plan
AUBURN | Kam Martin appears to have found the perfect advisor when he needs tips on gaining weight.
“Braden Smith,” said Martin of Auburn’s 6-foot-6 and 303-pound offensive lineman. “He told me I have to eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich every day before I go to bed, so I took that.”
Martin has taken Smith’s advice and all those PB&J’s — he prefers creamy peanut butter and grape jelly — along with extra helpings of chicken and potatoes, has helped Auburn’s sophomore running back add 16 pounds to his 5-foot-10 frame since arriving last summer.
“He's up to 188 pounds. At the same time, he hasn't lost his speed so that's been a real asset there,” running backs coach Tim Horton said. “He needs to get thicker because the pounding aspect, the protection aspect, that's something that he can improve on.
“By gaining that weight and keeping his speed, I think eventually he can be an 195-pound back, which I think that will be good enough in this league.”
Martin's weight-gain plan is coordinated through Auburn’s strength and conditioning program and the sports nutrition staff.
“We have a nutritionist that tells us what we need to eat, and then we have like GPS’s that tell us how much weight we lose at practice, and they’ll tell me like, ‘Kam, you need to eat three plates at dinner.’ I’ll be like, OK, I have to eat three plates, and I’ll eat it just so I can get all the weight that I lost and get it back,” Martin said.
Martin, who is one of the team’s fastest players, believes that aspect of his game has actually improved along with the gains in weight and strength.
“I feel like I got a lot faster,” he said.
Martin capped off a successful spring in the A-Day game with eight carries for 30 yards. He also caught a 12-yard pass, but did have one drop on a wheel route.
“I feel like I'm very comfortable, but I feel like I need to work on some things,” Martin said. “Just be a complete back, you know. Just work on things I need to work on.”
His teammates saw the improvement in Martin this spring.
“Kam is very fast, he’s got good hands, he’s learning the offense just like the rest of us,” junior running back Kerryon Johnson said. “He blocked very well on our drills. He’s only getting better. It just comes with size and it comes with maturity.”
This spring, Martin was battling with Malik Miller and walk-on C.J. Tolbert for the No. 3 running back on the depth chart behind Kamryn Pettway and Johnson. True freshman Devan Barrett will join the competition this summer.
Martin is also expected to get a long look as a kick returner.
“I’m just trying to earn my right to get on the field this year,” he said. “I just can't wait until when my opportunity comes and I can go out and show it.”