Big Ten football: Milton-Union graduate Wes Martin thriving at Indiana

Indiana football has a fine spokesman in Wes Martin.

So does the village of West Milton.

“I love it to death,” Martin, a Milton-Union graduate, said of his hometown. “It’s a typical Midwestern small town. A lot of farming going on — it’s a farming community. A lot of hunting and fishing, that kind of stuff.”

The senior offensive lineman was happy to talk about all things Hoosiers football this week at Big Ten Media Days in Chicago.

>>RELATED: Conference commissioner talks burning topics

In the video above, the criminal justice major describes his journey from three-star recruit who spent his summers working on a dairy farm to a multi-year starter in the Big Ten with hopes of playing in the NFL.

And for any city-slickers in attendance, Martin described the difference between baling hay and straw.

“It was like a vacation when you got to bale straw,” he said. “Straw is so much lighter, and it doesn’t cut you up.”

Not surprisingly, Martin has a fan in Indiana coach Tom Allen.

“He brings everything you want in a football player in the league — tough, smart, dependable,” Allen said. “A guy who cares about the game as much as anybody I’ve ever been around, a guy you can count on, a guy you would feel very comfortable having your daughter date.”

In three years in Bloomington, Martin has already started 31 games on the offensive line. He was an honorable mention All-Big Ten pick last season and made the Academic All-Big Ten squad.

About the Author