If anybody knew what last year’s loss of Timmy Hinspeter was going to mean for UMass, it was Tyler Martin.
The two linebackers are close friends off the field and were two of the Minutemen’s most productive defenders before Hinspeter’s season was cut short by injury.
Now, Hinspeter is back for their final seasons together, giving Martin another veteran alongside him and then some. More importantly, he has one of his closest friends and one of his best resources for understanding Joe Harasymiak’s defense.
“It’s great,” Martin said. “Me and him are very close off the field and on the field. And it’s definitely fun to have him back.”
Hinspeter was in the middle of a productive first season at UMass before suffering a season-ending injury against Buffalo. Through seven games, the 6-foot-1, 235-pounder totaled 69 tackles, four tackles for loss, two sacks, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and an interception.
Martin went on to finish his own breakout season with 103 tackles, four tackles for loss and an interception, earning Third Team All-MAC honors. His 8.7 tackles per game ranked fifth in the conference.
Both are graduate students now, but Martin still sees Hinspeter as somebody he can learn from.
“He’s played in Coach H’s defense his whole career,” Martin acknowledged. “Even myself as a fifth-year guy similar to him, but only my second year in this defense, picking his brain and just really trying to get to know everything I can about the defense through him is really nice to have that resource.”
They also give the Minutemen a veteran presence in a linebacker room that could feature some new faces on the field this fall, including guys like transfer Joshua Iseah.
“I would say probably the biggest thing is just having a variety of guys that can do a lot of things,” Martin said. “I think guys like myself and Timmy Hines, just being older guys and being able to kind of help some of the guys that might be new transfers, young guys and stuff like that.
“From the top to bottom, guys are really good at certain things, athleticism-wise, can run, can cover and got some really good blitzers too. I just think like there’s a wide range and everyone kind of has their unique abilities and we all mesh really well.”
Hinspeter’s return gives that group another proven piece.
And for Martin, it gives him one more season alongside a player whose value he understands as well as anybody.
Your one-stop-shop for all your sports marketing needs… Owned and Operated by UMASS Grads.
We specialize in providing top-quality marketing & printing services for coaches, athletic directors, and sports marketing professionals.
Get Fan Ready!