Rooted

By USC Athletics Black History Month

February 25^th, 2016

By Sarah Bergstrom

For Tee Martin, it all started underneath a tree.

A tree that stood in southern Alabama in the center of his great-grandmother’s neighborhood, whose branches spread out and over the old women of the community (and their tag-along grandsons) as they discussed everything from fishing to love.

It was beneath those branches that Martin discovered invaluable lessons about life and against that trunk that he learned the importance of having strong roots.

“From my great-grandmother to my grandmother to my mother, I was really raised by a lot of strong women who, in most cases, were single parents that just wanted to see me have more,” Martin explained.

Growing up in inner-city Mobile, Martin’s childhood was very similar to that of his peers. Tireless boys with plenty of space to explore, he and his neighborhood friends would leave their houses at dawn and return at dusk, covered in mud and full of smiles. They played football, basketball, baseball and really anything that would satisfy their short attention spans and keep them out of trouble.

But there was one substantial difference about Martin’s upbringing, a component often critically absent from the homes of boys in the inner city: He was surrounded by a committed support system. From his great-grandmother to his little league coaches, the adults in Martin’s life believed in him, and that made all the difference.

Like a newly planted seed, Martin absorbed a little bit from each of these mothers and mentors.

From his great-grandmother: wisdom.

From his mother, a nurse who has labored long days and on holidays for as long as he can remember: the value of hard work.

From his uncle Arthur, a mechanical engineer for the Army Corps of Engineers: academic curiosity and dedication to school.

From his coaches - Henry Pough from Little League, Curtis Horton from Williamson High School, Larry Dickens at the Mobile Boys and Girls Club: He learned he could achieve whatever he set his mind to.

“Those were the origins of me,” said Martin. “Really it was just positive people in the middle of chaos, that’s how I describe it. But it was enough for me to see that I was good enough, I was smart enough and I was worthy of something better.”

Just as his great-grandmother’s tree was an ever-present source of wisdom, strength and growth, those surrounding Martin provided a rich foundation upon which to build his life. “We saw the struggle,” Martin reflected. “There were things around me – murder, drugs, all of the typical inner city stuff – but I had a vision and I had people around me who cultivated it, to get out and do something better.”

For Martin, that “something better” was a college education made possible by a unique aptitude for football. A talented multi-sport athlete, Martin fell in love with the quarterback position, excelling instantly his freshman year as the starter for Williamson High School. Recruiting letters began to arrive – first from Auburn, then from countless HBCUs, later from Notre Dame, and eventually from much of the SEC.

With a big decision in front of him, Martin took time to assess what was most important. Understanding that many schools were hesitant to play, let alone start, an African-American quarterback, it was imperative to Martin that he find a school that promised not to move him from his chosen position. A little research into the history of one of the schools seeking to sign him provided a reassuring answer.

“At the time, Tennessee had a history in the SEC of not only playing the first African-American quarterback in the conference, but always having an African-American quarterback on the team,” explained Martin. “I saw that they weren’t just telling me that in recruiting, but they were really doing it.”

Upon meeting with then-Volunteers offensive coordinator David Cutcliffe, the first coach who Martin says actually taught football on a recruiting visit, the young quarterback realized some of the shortcomings of his game at the time. With a self-awareness that’s rare for an 18-year-old, the conclusion actually drew Martin toward Tennessee even more.

He could not have been more different than the Volunteers’ starting quarterback at the time, a budding star by the name of Peyton Manning. But that appealed to the Mobile native who was hungry to learn from the best, and break out of his comfort zone. Martin knew some of the challenges that would one day come with being a black quarterback at a major football school, but he was eager to carry on a legacy of which he had long dreamed of being a part.

“Growing up in South Alabama I was very aware of what being an African-American quarterback meant, not just in my life but the people before me,” said Martin. “I grew up very aware of Doug Williams, Steve McNair and Charlie Ward - all of these guys were kind of idols for me. So I felt like, when the torch was passed, I had to take care of it and one day pass it on to the next generation.”

For two seasons, he learned under Manning, but in 1998 - Martin’s junior year - it was his turn. Most anticipated a noticeable drop-off for the Tennessee team that lost its all-time leading passer and that year’s No. 1 NFL Draft pick, but instead, Martin excelled in ways that his predecessor could not. Led by No. 17, the Vols finished as undefeated national champions, just the fourth school in modern football history to complete a 13-0 season. On the outside, everything looked great; but not everyone was thrilled with Martin’s success.

“I was at the top of the world, 19 years old and just won a national championship. Life was good,” remembered Martin. “But then I start getting hate mail. Whoa. I remember getting ready for class one day and I’m watching this TV show that wanted me to be benched. We were undefeated. I’m sitting there like, ‘Why do I need to be benched? What did I do?’”

Even as recently as 1999, it still bothered some to see an African-American as the face of their favorite football program. It didn’t surprise Martin, who had been aware of the harsh reality of racism since he was young, but that didn’t make it easy either. In the face of daily adversity completely outside his control, the quarterback reached back to his roots, leaning on lessons instilled in him as a child.

“Yeah, it was hurtful, but you deal with it,” Martin explained. “I just kept on pushing. It made me stronger, it made me better and actually, in some ways, I kind of appreciated it. I always believe that if you continue to work hard, good things will happen and that’s what I focused on.”

Surrounding Martin were teammates and coaches who supported him, but few could truly empathize with his situation. Then, in 1999, Tennessee brought Condredge Holloway onto the football staff. The Vols legend, who became the first African-American quarterback ever to start in the SEC in 1972, served as a confidant for Martin, providing much-needed perspective and encouragement to the young quarterback. He didn’t feel quite so alone.

“I mean it felt like I was going through stuff,” Martin said shaking his head. “But imagine what he went through being the first African-American quarterback at [Tennessee] and in the conference! I was small apples compared to what this guy went through. He was an inspiration and that really helped me because I looked up to him.”

The Pittsburgh Steelers selected Martin in the 2000 NFL Draft after two successful seasons at Tennessee. Over the next several years, the quarterback traversed both the NFL and CFL before hanging up his cleats in 2005. But while the physical part of his career was over, Martin was far from finished with football.

Coaching was a natural next step for the quarterback, who by virtue of his position was both a leader and student of the game. But more than that, Martin felt a pull toward younger athletes similar to him, an urge to teach and inspire the next generation of talented football players.

He began as an assistant at several schools in the South – Morehouse College, North Cobb High School and North Atlanta High School – before getting his first big-time job as the quarterbacks’ coach at New Mexico in 2009. He then spent two seasons at Kentucky, one as passing game coordinator, before accepting the job that first brought him across the country to Los Angeles. In 2012, Martin signed on to become the wide receivers coach at the University of Southern California where he has remained, and thrived, ever since.

After back-to-back years of coaching two of the top wide receivers in the nation, Martin added passing game coordinator to his list of responsibilities in 2014. When Clay Helton was named head coach at the end of last season, Martin received his biggest promotion yet, becoming USC’s offensive coordinator, an opportunity he still has a hard time fully believing.

“I would have lost all my money if I had bet on being the offensive coordinator at USC,” Martin said, pausing as he searched for words. “I have to pinch myself sometimes. I was raised to just pray about it, wake up and work, and things will take care of themselves. My motto is, ‘Grow Where You’re Planted,’ and I’m really about that. It doesn’t matter where I am, I’m going to try to water the plant and grow there and whatever happens next, happens.”

As Martin has grown, so has his influence. And along the way, no matter what the job title, the coach has strived to hold himself to a high standard, seeking to walk a path very few have tread. He’s aware that 10 out of the 128 current FBS head coaches are African-American, a reminder of the still-present adversity he once faced at Tennessee. Right now however, he’s just focused on helping USC’s offense be its best.

“I wouldn’t say it’s a chip on my shoulder, but it’s the knowing that I’ve got to prove myself every day,” explained Martin. “You always have to prove yourself. I don’t care what color you are, but especially when you’re one of few. There is still ground to be made, so I take it with special pride to just do my job. And I figure that just doing that is enough.”

He’s regarded as one of the best recruiters in the country as well as one of the sport’s top up-and-coming coaching talents, but that’s not why Martin gets up in the morning. In his eyes, the purpose of his job lies not in accolades and star-ratings but in the young men he gets to shepherd each day.

Martin has come a long way from the shade of his great-grandmother’s tree. But it’s his roots – that unfaltering support system in Mobile – that guide him each day as he strives to be a beacon of encouragement, wisdom and support to countless others. And just as that tree served as a refuge in the midst of what was often chaos, Martin aims to be a strong and stable example to the next generation of football players.