Source : Don Narcross (The San Diego Union Tribune)
Martell Irby sits on a bar stool in his Skyline backyard, improvising on his red tenor saxophone. A half-lit moon hangs in the sky. Planes glide toward Lindbergh Field. Nearby, a dog barks.
The barking should not be construed as criticism. Irby is a talented musician, a member of the San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts’ award-winning jazz ensemble.
“He comes primarily from a soul or gospel tradition,” explains John Reynolds, the SCPA’s director of jazz studies. “He’s really a great player.”
Irby attends classes at SCPA. His studies done, the sax stored, he heads to nearby Morse High, where he’s one of the county’s most talented football players. Irby rushed for 1,729 yards last season and opened the 2017 campaign last week with a 179-yard effort against Mount Miguel.
A two-way player, he delivers crushing hits at safety.
“I love that kid,” says Valley Center coach Rob Gilster, who survived Irby rushing for 275 yards and scoring four touchdowns in a playoff game last season. “Pound for pound, one of the best players in the county. He has winner written all over him.”
Irby knows how to open a book, too. His grade-point average hovers just below 4.0. He says “yes sir” and “no sir,” is thankful for his mother’s sometimes-stern guiding hand and is a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
The headline for his online Hudl video highlights reads “All Glory to God.”
Regarding his respectful nature, Irby says, “Being disrespectful, not having manners, that was never tolerated.”
Neither is a so-so report card. Last year, Irby was earning a “C” in Advanced Placement statistics. At the time he was running track. But his mother, Monica Irby, put her foot down, making him quit the track team to elevate the grade.
“Math was his strongest subject. There was no reason for him to have a ‘C,’” says Monica, a fourth-grade teacher. “He had a ‘C’ because he was spending too much time doing other stuff. That’s why God gave you a mother, to make the better decisions you don’t know how to.”
Irby lifted the AP stats grade to a B. Because it was an Advanced Placement class, it was elevated to an A for GPA purposes.
Faith, football and the saxophone rank 1, 1A and 1B to Martell.
He began playing flag football at age 5, donned pads by 8 and made the Morse varsity as a freshman. His running style is no frills. Sitting about five yards behind center in the Tigers’ two-back eagle offense, there is little threat of Irby passing when taking a direct snap.
He plays quarterback a bit like Marcus Allen did at Lincoln. Get the ball, get out of my way, I’m taking off. His cuts are razor-blade barber sharp.
“I put a foot in the ground and get up field,” says Irby, who is being recruited by Mountain West schools. “I’m not too fancy, razzle-dazzle.”
“He can be a slasher, he can be a power back, he can be a speed back, he can be a blocking back,” says Morse coach Tracy McNair, whose team hosts Oceanside tonight. “He’s the next generation running back. He’s multidimensional.”
At 5-feet-91/2, 198 pounds, Irby is physical.
“Probably one of the bigger hitters you’ll go against,” says Gilster.
Irby’s older brother, Daq, is a redshirt linebacker at Nevada. Martell, though, prefers the ball in his hands.
Sitting inside his home, holding his tenor sax, Irby says, “I love playing defense, but I feel like I’m more effective and can impact the game (at running back). That’s a first love, running the ball and scoring touchdowns.”
As for music, Irby can play the drums, piano, saxophone and clarinet.
“And he can sing, too,” Monica pipes in from the kitchen.
“I don’t sing,” Martell insists. “I can keep a note. But I’m not like a singer.”
His ego, which is minimal, is kept in check by his mother. Saxophone practice is limited to the garage.
“I don’t want to hear all that,” says Monica. “Now it sounds good. But can you imagine when he was 10, 11, 12?”
“The saxophone is a way to express myself. It’s a stress reliever,” says Irby.
“He plays his sax when he’s frustrated,” adds Monica. “When he’s troubled, he’s down here playing the sax. It calms him down.”
Adds Martell, “It’s kind of my alter ego.”
Football player, saxophonist, “A” student. There is depth to Martell Irby.
“He’s the most gifted kid I’ve ever come in contact with in 25 years of coaching,” says McNair. “Yet he’s very humble. He’s more about the team, more about the community. He’s more about what’s right and what’s wrong.”
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