Transferring from Oregon to ASU, sophomore defensive back Cole Martin played in the Sun Devils’ first two games this year but as he has been dealing with a nagging hip injury, he was shut down for the remainder of the 2024 season.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!On Wednesday after Arizona State football concluded practice in Tempe, head coach Kenny Dillingham revealed that Martin will undergo surgery to help him get back to 100% health.
“Cole Martin is going to be out for the year. He’s gonna get surgery on a few items that have just been like lingering since he got here, it was before he got here,” Dillingham said. “He’s been trying to push through it, he’s a really tough kid. It had just come to a point where we got to get him right. We made that decision with Cole and his family ”
Martin, who began playing in high school at Hamilton before finishing his final two years at Basha, was a true freshman for Oregon last year and returned to the Valley via the transfer portal in the offseason. The former four-star recruit played in all 14 games for the Ducks, with 21 tackles, two pass breakups and one interception.
Backing up behind Shamari Simmons at nickel, the 5-foot-10, 180-pound Martin collected four tackles and a pass breakup in the wins against Mississippi State and Wyoming.
In his place, Dillingham said freshman Kyan McDonald will be the backup nickel going forward.
“McDonald’s going to be the backup nickel, we feel confident in him,” Dillingham said. “He reminds me of Keith Abney from last year. Super smart, super savvy, just where he is supposed to be. He picked the ball off yesterday and last week he had a pick in 7-on-7. He’s just a guy who’s around the ball a lot. I think he is a guy that is going to get better and better.”
McDonald has no statistical markers so far in his first year of college football. He was a three-star recruit from Seattle, Wash. who also joined ASU from O’Dea High School along with freshman running back Jason Brown Jr.
Simmons has made one of the biggest impressions on the Sun Devils’ defense to begin the season. He has racked up 18 tackles, one pass defended and a forced fumble, including eight tackles against Texas State last Thursday.
Former ASU defensive lineman Lawrence Guy signs with Bengals
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Reporter Alec Cipollini covers ASU Athletics, the Phoenix Mercury and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account, @AlecCipollini
