High school football: Colt lineman's pro football dream runs deep

Editor's note: The Deseret Morning News plans to follow several students who are at various stages of the recruiting process until they have completed their first year in college. In the first few articles, we'll introduce you to a few of these athletes and discuss the issues they are facing. The stories will run once every three weeks, unless there is breaking news involving one of the players.

John Martinez has known for a long time that he wants to earn a living playing football.

And while others may doubt the possibility of that dream, he just quietly goes about doing the things he believes will make that dream a reality.

"He loves football more than anything else," said his father, Steve Martinez. "Last year, the English teacher asked them to stand and tell everybody what they were passionate about. He stood up and said he loved football and said his passion was football and that someday he was going to play in the NFL. About a half dozen kids laughed. It wasn't at all funny to John."

A talented athlete, Martinez is a junior at Cottonwood High, where he is an offensive lineman. He was one of 500 football players invited to a combine at the Army All-American Game a few weeks ago. He was selected to the All-Combine team and finished in the top three athletes in every category.

A standout baseball and basketball player for many years, he began putting on football pads at the age of 8.

"He liked it right away," said Steve Martinez. "Every year his team was the championship team until eighth grade."

The 6-foot-4 250-pound teenager got his first look from a college coach when he was lifting weights at Cottonwood High at age 13. John said his love of football grew deeper because he watched his cousins Doug and Jason Kaufusi play for the University of Utah.

John was adopted by the Martinez family when he was just a few days old, but he remains close to many of his biological family members, including his older brother Keni Kaufusi. In fact, Keni Kaufusi has lived with the Martinez family on and off for the past eight years. Kaufusi, a senior at Cottonwood, also hopes to play college football, and John said he and his brother are very competitive with each other when they work out.

"When I was little, I always liked playing because it was with my brother and my friends," John said. "I've always wanted to be the greatest football player ... I love doing extra workouts ... Me and my brother always push each other. We set out to do 10 sprints but then turn it into 15. Then we'd do push-ups every 10 yards. We figured a few extra ... and we'll be a step ahead of where the other guys will be."