Luke's Q&A with A.J. Epenesa's coach, Matt Martin.
rvls.co/Epenesa17
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Edwardsville head coach Matt Martin knew A.J. Epenesa was a special talent right away when he reported for camp his freshman year. Since then, he has only gotten better, turning himself into one of the most highly sought after prospects in the Class of 2017 before ending the recruiting process with a commitment to Iowa in January. We caught up with Coach Martin to learn more about the 6-foot-5, 255-pound Epenesa, what makes him a special player, how he projects to college, and much more.
Q: What type of player has he been for you?
MARTIN: He is a pretty special player. He is physical. Obviously he is very strong and experienced. He can do a lot with that. He is a playmaker.
Q: What are his main strengths as a player?
MARTIN: His physical attributes are pretty obvious. He is very coachable too. He plays with good technique and within the defense. That is a huge positive for us. He not only wants to be a good player but he wants to do what he is supposed to be doing.
Q: What is he working to improve on?
MARTIN: He has been working on basketball and is a heck of a basketball player. He is a three sport athlete. I think we try to encourage our players to go out for at least one more sport and at our school he is good enough to play three. He doesn't train year round for football because of that. He throws the shot and the discus. He is very good at that as well. I think he is working on being the best he can in whatever sport he is involved in.
Q: When could you tell he was a special athlete?
MARTIN: About the first week of the summer coming into his freshman year. I knew about him as an eighth grader because of his physical tools but didn’t realize he could play (varsity) for us or be physical enough. I didn't think he could handle the work ethic every day that is required to be a varsity player. I didn’t know if he could handle the coaching because you don't know how he'd respond. He showed me that he was mentally and physically mature at that young age. I knew he'd be good in the first week.
Q: When did the recruiting process blow up for him?
MARTIN: After his freshman year, after that fall but we didn’t really let the coaches come in and see him. I talked with his dad about it. I think it was way too early to be doing bump ins or having coaches see him. I knew there would be plenty of time for that.
Q: How much did his family having a college football background help with the recruiting part of the process?
MARTIN: I think that his parents background really helped with recruiting. It helped with them understanding the process and what you should value and what you shouldn’t. They knew that they didn't have to go to every camp or 7-on-7. They took their time and visited a couple of college campuses that they wanted to. Because they had been through it and their dad played, they could keep things in perspective.
Q: What sold him on Iowa?
MARTIN: I think he just said it felt right. As a little kid, Iowa was the school he wanted to go to but he visited those other campuses. He might leave another school wanting to go there but as he got older, everything kept coming back more and more to Iowa.
Q: Where does he project out in college?
MARTIN: I haven't talked to them about it but to me he is a defensive lineman. He could be a tight end as well. He could be a dominant tight end.
Q: What his role be this year as a senior for you?
MARTIN: I am going to use him as much as he can handle. I don't want him to have any regrets this year. If it is possible to get him some carries, we will do that.
rvls.co/Epenesa17
---
Edwardsville head coach Matt Martin knew A.J. Epenesa was a special talent right away when he reported for camp his freshman year. Since then, he has only gotten better, turning himself into one of the most highly sought after prospects in the Class of 2017 before ending the recruiting process with a commitment to Iowa in January. We caught up with Coach Martin to learn more about the 6-foot-5, 255-pound Epenesa, what makes him a special player, how he projects to college, and much more.
Q: What type of player has he been for you?
MARTIN: He is a pretty special player. He is physical. Obviously he is very strong and experienced. He can do a lot with that. He is a playmaker.
Q: What are his main strengths as a player?
MARTIN: His physical attributes are pretty obvious. He is very coachable too. He plays with good technique and within the defense. That is a huge positive for us. He not only wants to be a good player but he wants to do what he is supposed to be doing.
Q: What is he working to improve on?
MARTIN: He has been working on basketball and is a heck of a basketball player. He is a three sport athlete. I think we try to encourage our players to go out for at least one more sport and at our school he is good enough to play three. He doesn't train year round for football because of that. He throws the shot and the discus. He is very good at that as well. I think he is working on being the best he can in whatever sport he is involved in.
Q: When could you tell he was a special athlete?
MARTIN: About the first week of the summer coming into his freshman year. I knew about him as an eighth grader because of his physical tools but didn’t realize he could play (varsity) for us or be physical enough. I didn't think he could handle the work ethic every day that is required to be a varsity player. I didn’t know if he could handle the coaching because you don't know how he'd respond. He showed me that he was mentally and physically mature at that young age. I knew he'd be good in the first week.
Q: When did the recruiting process blow up for him?
MARTIN: After his freshman year, after that fall but we didn’t really let the coaches come in and see him. I talked with his dad about it. I think it was way too early to be doing bump ins or having coaches see him. I knew there would be plenty of time for that.
Q: How much did his family having a college football background help with the recruiting part of the process?
MARTIN: I think that his parents background really helped with recruiting. It helped with them understanding the process and what you should value and what you shouldn’t. They knew that they didn't have to go to every camp or 7-on-7. They took their time and visited a couple of college campuses that they wanted to. Because they had been through it and their dad played, they could keep things in perspective.
Q: What sold him on Iowa?
MARTIN: I think he just said it felt right. As a little kid, Iowa was the school he wanted to go to but he visited those other campuses. He might leave another school wanting to go there but as he got older, everything kept coming back more and more to Iowa.
Q: Where does he project out in college?
MARTIN: I haven't talked to them about it but to me he is a defensive lineman. He could be a tight end as well. He could be a dominant tight end.
Q: What his role be this year as a senior for you?
MARTIN: I am going to use him as much as he can handle. I don't want him to have any regrets this year. If it is possible to get him some carries, we will do that.
