Newly drafted Washington Redskins offensive guard Wes Martin has been praised for his explosive strength. After all, Martin completed 38 bench reps of 225 pounds at the NFL combine and had 42 on his pro day.
It likely comes from working on his neighbor's dairy farm in West Milton, Ohio.
"Physically, there is a lot of grit strength involved and brute strength," Martin said. "It kind of instilled the work ethic, and it makes you not afraid to work extremely hard and put in a lot of hours into what you are doing.""
After his mother told him and his brother, Adam, to spend their free time outside, Martin began to take daily walks to a neighboring farm to pet the cows. Martin eventually began to help out on the farm, doing any job the farmer asked him to do. Two of his most common tasks were helping with bailing hay and moving manure, which he credits with helping his strength develop.
Along with developing his physical strength, working on the farm helped instill a dedicated work ethic as well as his nickname: Mr. Dependable.
Martin would spend long hours in the summer heat working on the farm but never wavered. His work ethic shined off the field, too, as Martin became the first member of his mother's side of the family to graduate from college and was named an academic All-Big Ten selection four times while attending Indiana University.
Away from football, working around animals on the farm helped drive one of Martin's biggest passions. Last summer, Martin established a non-profit company, Brave Breed, focused on putting rescue dogs back into homes.
At his pro day with Indiana, Martin accepted donation pledges for every bench rep he completed. As you can imagine, there were a lot of donations.
