'Blessed with the ability to lead': Daniel George and KJ Martin Jr. guide Akron football

University of Akron football players Daniel George and KJ Martin Jr. were comfortable wearing No. 3 and No. 15, respectively, last season.

Akron football strength and conditioning coach Jeff Sobol had other ideas this summer.

"Coach Sobol made that final decision on who would wear No. 1 on offense and defense," George said Aug. 12 on UA's campus ahead of the 2023 season. "He gave a little bit of info as to what it would mean on the team for two guys that led throughout the spring and led throughout the summer, not only with our actions, but also with our words. We led by example, and he was with us for every workout and every meeting."

Akron football coach Joe Moorhead agreed with Sobol's decision on who should wear No. 1, and is excited to see what George and Martin can do when the Zips open the season at 2 p.m. Saturday against Temple in Philadelphia, Pa.

"Our best leaders are Daniel George on offense and KJ Martin on defense," Moorhead said. "... Both guys are incredibly mature, very well spoken and have great work ethic. They have been blessed with the ability to lead. They have earned the respect of the team. There are some guys that talk and they haven't earned the right to do so. With everything that those guys do on and off the field, I think they have earned the right to become good leaders, and they are obviously very skilled as well from a talent standpoint."

George and Martin both said they were "kind of shocked" to be recognized by Sobol and Moorhead.

"It is a great feeling to see that I will be representing the University of Akron in the No. 1 uniform," George said. "I am proud to say that I will be wearing No. 1. ... The number is a representation of the work that we put in."

George and Martin are both in their second seasons at Akron. George previously played at Penn State and Martin previously played at West Virginia.

"This definitely means a lot, especially coming from the coaches," Martin said. "We didn't know who was going to wear No. 1 up until a team meeting. ... This is definitely a blessing to see that I am viewed as a leader. We have big shoes to fill, both vocally and by example. Throughout the spring and throughout the summer, I learned a lot about myself as far as being a leader."

George started his college career in 2018 at Penn State and appeared in three games. He caught a school-record 95-yard touchdown pass from Sean Clifford in the fourth quarter of a 63-10 win over Kent State on Sept. 15, 2018.

"That was my first college game," George said. "... That was my first drive in college. I remember they called the play, it was a comeback and go."

George played in 36 games at Penn State from 2018-2021 and had 18 receptions for 285 yards and one TD. He played in all 12 games last year with Akron and totaled 67 receptions for 793 yards and two touchdowns.

"Daniel George is an outstanding leader for us," Akron offensive coordinator Billy Fessler said. "He is a guy that isn't afraid to talk to the whole team. He will bring everybody in. He will talk to the whole offense. He knows the expectation. We are talking about a guy that was at Penn State and he saw it done at the highest level. He saw those guys go compete for championships and win bowl games and do all of those little things that are necessary to win.

"To have a guy that has that experience and to be drive that culture is great. Between him and [quarterback] DJ [Irons] and then [running back] Lorenzo [Lingard], those three have been awesome. Then, on the offensive line you bring back a guy like Nate Williams that has played a lot of ball here and really understands, 'Hey, this is where we have been and we have to do something different to get to where we want to be.'"

Martin played in 15 games at West Virginia from 2019-2021 and made 52 tackles (37 solo) and 3½ tackles for loss. He played in 11 games last year with Akron and had 53 tackles (30 solo), three tackles for loss and one interception.

"From an experience standpoint, our secondary is ahead of the rest of our defense because we have the most returning guys who have played in the games before," Akron defensive coordinator Tim Tibesar said. "KJ is having a really nice fall camp. ... He is looking more and more comfortable out there. The second year in the defensive system, I think he understands what his job is, what his role is and how we are going to force in coverages where the ball is going to end up being thrown. He has been able to capitalize on that experience."

George and Martin said the vibe around the team is different, in a good way, this season.

"The culture is different," George said. "I feel like the young guys and the transfer guys that we brought in, everybody is jelling nicely. In the locker room, you can sense the energy is different. The energy is definitely different when we work out and when we practice.

"... Coach Sobol and his staff have definitely come in here and done a great job changing our bodies, changing our mentality of how we attack workouts, how we attack sleep and how we attack nutrition. Those are things that he constantly reminds us of everyday, and as a team we have all taken that and applied that to our daily lives. You can see that with the team physically and why we are faster, we are stronger and I feel like we are more durable as a team this year."

Martin is embracing being a leader and putting ego aside.

"A lot of people don't want to hear when they are wrong," Martin said. "As a leader, you should be able to hear when you are wrong and right. ... Our team as a whole, we are a lot different than when I got here to what it is now. We have the right guys. I know people say that a lot. Accountability is at an all-time high and discipline is at an all-time high. We rarely have guys lagging in the back. You will stick out like a sore thumb, especially with our meetings."

Martin added that players are expected to be at meetings 15 minutes early.

"We have a saying, 'Early is on time, on time is late and late is forgotten,'" Martin said.

Michael Beaven can be reached at mbeaven@thebeaconjournal and is on Twitter at @MBeavenABJ

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Daniel George and KJ Martin Jr. lead Akron into 2023 football season