Martin stood in the end zone waiting for the kickoff. He knew the spotlight was on him and he was ready. His ankle was taped. He wore his lucky #11 jersey and he had eyeblack under his eyes with the words Phil under the right eye and 4:13 under his left eye. His mind was focused and his spirit was strong. He was bolstered by the fact that his momma was at the game. She'd told him she wouldn't miss it for the world. And the love of his life, Shawna, was with her. They planned to get married after training camp, regardless of whether or not Martin made the team.

He spent the day recharging his batteries from his emotional morning with Coach Ken. But surprisingly, it didn't take long, and at this moment he felt more energized than he had in a long, long time. This was a good thing because as he received the kickoff and dropped the ball, he would need that energy to avoid getting pulverized. With the ball on the ground and the other team racing toward him, he slipped and thought to himself, I blew it. I blew it. But then he heard a whisper that said, Get up. Get up. He raced to his feet, picked up the ball, and ran up field as fast as he could. One tackler raced by him. Another bounced off him. He made a fake to the left, then ran to the right and saw a wide gap open up. With lightning speed he ran through the gap, made one more fake, and all that was left between him and the end zone was the kicker. Martin raced past the kicker, but just as he was in the clear the kicker leaped, threw up his arm, and hit Martin's left leg just enough to trip him up. Martin fell to the ground, but not before he made it to the other team's 40-yard line. He didn't score a touchdown, but once again Martin had electrified the crowd.

Throughout the game he would get many more opportunities to shine and he made the most of them. The coaches commented to each other via the headsets that he was like a different player from the one they saw practicing this week. He ran the ball hard, protected his quarterback on pass plays, and caught a few passes out of the backfield. When it was all said and done, Martin had a great game. But so did the other rookie vying for a spot on the team. In the eyes of most observers, they played equally well. The only difference was that the other rookie scored two short yardage touchdowns and Martin returned and excelled on kickoffs. It seemed that with every kickoff return he was one tackle away from running it back for a touchdown. And every time Martin touched the ball the crowd held its collective breath, expecting something exciting to happen. He was quickly becoming a fan favorite. He only hoped that he was the coaching staff's favorite as they made their final cuts tomorrow.