Q&A: Belle Vernon head coach Matt Humbert opens up about Quinton Martin

Penn State was hoping to welcome back one of its top overall prospects in the Class of 2024 Saturday in Belle Vernon Ath. Quinton Martin. However, it looks as if that’ll have to wait a week now, as Martin is expected to check out Ohio State this weekend instead. The plan is to return to Beaver Stadium next weekend for the showdown against the Buckeyes.

Ranked No. 27 nationally in the On3 Consensus rankings, Martin has been a regular in State College over the past year, visiting six times previously. His most recent trip took place in July to attend the Lasch Bash Barbecue.

To learn the latest on the Keystone State’s top-ranked 2024 prospect, we caught up with Belle Vernon head coach Matt Humbert recently to learn more about Martin’s progression, where Penn State stands and some other schools to keep an eye on in the months ahead.

Ryan Snyder: Let’s start off the field. What’s Quinton like around his teammates? He’s quiet with the media, so what’s he like around the team, in the locker room, etc?

Humbert: I think that’s what kind of sells Quinton more than anything. I think in this day and age of big-time recruits, guys that are uber-talented and whatnot, one thing that every coach in America wants to make sure is that those guys are good locker room guys. He just excels at that. Quinton has this innocence about him that makes him so endearing. He’s just like the kid that picks up a ball and wants to play and has a smile on his face the entire time doing it.

He’s always joking with everybody and he’s just so upbeat and positive. I think that’s truly the selling point. Aside from all the athletic accolades, he’s just a good person. He’s a great teammate. You know, the funny thing is, if you watch him over the past few weeks, when Jake [Gedekoh] scores or there’s someone else having success, he’s the kid fist pumping the hardest, smiling the biggest. It just shows you how genuine of a teammate he is.

Snyder: Did you follow Quinton much before he got to Belle Vernon? How far does that relationship go back?

Humbert: We knew he was going to be a really good player early on. In middle school, just about every game they would open up handing him a jet sweep, and just about every game, he’d end up scoring on that. So, of course, we knew who he was in sixth, seventh, eighth grade. Going into his freshman year, there was a lot of people saying, ‘Hey, this kid can start as a freshman.’ I never really jumped on that boat because I know the level that we play. It’s hard for a kid as a freshman to start right away.

But I remember all eyes were on him the first day of camp and we put him into a very high-intensity hitting drill the first day. We knew if he could hold his own right there, he’s going to be a dude. He didn’t let us down that day or really at any point during his freshman year, that’s for sure. He started as a slot receiver for us, and then he eventually transitioned into a tailback. I remember our semifinal game, when we played Aliquippa in the semi-finals his freshman year, he was the feature back for us.

Snyder: What separates Quinton on the field? We all see the speed and some of the physical attributes, but what have you seen over the years?

Humbert: His instincts and vision, without a doubt. In some of the inside and outside runs that we have, I mean, he just has such good vision. If you really look last year, about midway through, some of the different ways that he was able to manipulate his body in a tight window is pretty impressive. The speed and all that stuff, that’s self-explanatory, but I think the way that he kind of operates in close proximity is something that’s very impressive.

Snyder: Where do you think his potential is best in college? I get the impression that Penn State likes him at running back mainly, although they’d take him at any position. What about some other schools? Any idea where most schools prefer him to play?

Humbert: There’s some really big schools that like him as a tailback and there are some schools that love them at receiver. But I think defensively is kind of the consensus with a lot of schools, but he’s also in a position that he can pretty much go and play what he wants to play, at least early on, with most schools.

I think one thing that he doesn’t get enough credit for because there are so many eyes on him offensively is, defensively, that’s where he makes his money. He played safety for us for two years and did a great job. Last year in the playoffs we transitioned him to corner and he’s been lights out there ever since. He has the frame though that he could probably play a little outside linebacker as well. He’s aggressive enough in the run game and can cover well enough in the passing game that he could do that.

I just think that when it comes to being a safe bet, defensively is probably what I think of as one of his top attributes because he’s tough, he’s smart and he’s athletic. Offensively, I don’t think that he can’t do it, it’s just tougher to figure out because he can do a little bit of everything offensively. Even with us, we’re always trying to get him on the perimeter, get him in the passing game, get him in the backfield. I mean, he just provides so much opportunity on offense, you’re trying to cut him in 50 different ways. Defensively, it’s much more clean-cut.

Snyder: What have your interactions been like with Penn State’s coaching staff?

Humbert: They’re aggressive. I would probably use that term more than anything, especially Terry Smith. Terry does a great job of constantly staying on it. I don’t envy those guys. It seems like they’re constantly on the road, constantly in different places, but I would say that Penn State is at the top in terms of staying on that interaction and just grinding. I guess that’s the best word for me. They’re grinders when it comes to that. Having them come out to one of our home football games, I thought that was pretty cool of them. They’ve been to one or two of his basketball games last year, too. So, they grind when it comes to this, they really do.

Snyder: Any other schools you can share when it comes to who’s been the most aggressive with Quinton?

Humbert: Michigan and Ohio State have done a good job. Pitt, obviously, does a lot as well. If Penn State’s number one, Pitt’s right there. West Virginia has been on it pretty good as well. Their safety coach has been up a handful of times. He’s been to two basketball games as well, so I’d say all of those schools have been putting the full-court press on Quinton.