Vaughan Martin coming along slowly

Vaughn Martin was drafted in the fourth round in 2009, having come out of school early and having played just a semblance of American football.

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“He’s made a lot of progress,” Norv Turner said. “He was just a long ways back.”

It’s easy to forget Martin was a project coming out the University of Western Ontario, where he played just two seasons. (And what he played was the Canadian brand of football, against much lesser opponents.)

Martin played a lot right away his rookie season due to injuries elsewhere on the defensive line. It was not pretty at times. He wasn’t strong enough, didn’t know enough. The Chargers sat him for six games midseason, allowing him to focus on learning. Martin played less and played better when he got in toward the end of the season. His 48 snaps in the season finale were a season high, and he was awarded a game ball.

There was thought Martin would be playing a fair amount at defensive end this season, having bulked up, gotten stronger and soaked up the game and life as an NFL player in a new country.

But while seven other defensive linemen have played this season, Martin has yet to be active. By all accounts, he could play if he had to and might even show flashes of why the Chargers took a flier on him. But he doesn’t have to play and the Chargers don’t want to push him.

Martin could be active at any point, as the Chargers continue to monitor he and Thomas and assess where the team’s needs are each Sunday.

“I’m really excited about the progress he has made,” Turner said. “When he gets to play, he’s going to be good.”

Once the NFL season begins, there is not much time for individual instruction with an emphasis on learning. So Martin and rookie Cam Thomas, who has played the past two games, work on fundamentals on the field for about a half-hour every Monday with line coach Don Johnson.

“I’m not frustrated,” Martin said. “I’d rather be on the field, but it is also an opportunity to learn and soak everything in. It is an opportunity to learn — even just from the travel, even from not playing. It is an opportunity to learn from getting up, still getting prepared and practicing the exact same way, and when I go to practice, to me, I look at practice as even more damn important, and I look forward to practice. I look forward to everything. Every single opportunity I get to compete, I look forward to it, and just preparation, all of that stuff, is just so much more important now.”

By Kevin Acee

Friday, October 22