David Martin spent 11 years playing tight end in the NFL.
Martin, who played the first six years of his pro career in Green Bay before moving on to Miami and Buffalo, played wide receiver at the University of Tennessee from 1997-2000.
Many Tennessee fans thought at the time that Martin should switch to tight end while he was playing for the Vols. So what led him to decide to make the transition in the NFL?
“I didn’t decide; the NFL decided for me,” Martin said on WNML on Tuesday. “I got drafted as a tight end. … A lot of guys don’t get that opportunity. I just took it and ran with it.”
Martin’s success in the NFL has led to the “what if” discussion with his college career. Martin said he often jokes with former UT coach Phillip Fulmer and his offensive staff members about the wide receiver-tight end debate while he was in college.
“Now that I played tight end, they all say, ‘I told you that you should have been a tight end,’ but I don’t remember that conversation,” Martin said as he laughed. “We talk about it all the time. (Fulmer) claims that he always told me that, but I don’t remember that.”
Martin also talked about his career in the NFL, his transition into coaching as he works on staff at Maryville college and an important event coming up to help Alzheimer’s Tennessee. Listen below.
Martin will be at the Northshore Open on Thursday — a fun gathering for golfers and your first chance to sign up for the 13th Annual Alzheimer’s Tennessee Memory Links Golf Classic on Monday, May 15th at Gettysvue. Thursday’s event, which is free to attend, will last from 4:30 – 6:30. Former Tennessee quarterback Erik Ainge will be in attendance from 4:30 – 5:30.
