How Donte Martin etched his name in New Mexico's record books

Nov. 22—The record fell sometime early Sunday morning, while Donte Martin was on a charter flight somewhere high over the Southwestern United States. And there's a chance nobody would've noticed until later on, until Martin got the next one he was never all too focused about in the first place.

Which, in some ways, was fitting. New Mexico's redshirt senior cornerback wasn't quite chasing a record so much as he was just trying to do his job. Some players' faces light up at the mere mention of being part of history; Martin stood for weeks on the precipice and nodded at it, before adding he wasn't here for that and what he really wanted was to win games more than anything else.

And because, in all honesty, this wasn't a record one chases on a straight line. If you're going to become a program's all-time leading scorer, you take shots. If you're going to become a school's all-time leading passer, you throw the ball.

If you're going to become the University of New Mexico's all-time leader in career pass breakups ... well, you break up passes. 31 or more to be specific. But the more passes you break up, of course, the less likely a team is going to throw at you.

And the less likely a team is going to throw at you ...

"I told him at the beginning of the season: 'it's gonna be really hard for you to break that record," UNM head coach Danny Gonzales said. "'Because as good as you are, they're not gonna throw at you. And so the minimal opportunities you get, you gotta make the most out of every single one.'"

At the start of the season, it didn't look as if it'd be that much of a chase. On a heat-smothered evening in College Station, Texas A&M couldn't run the ball but did they ever throw it, targeting Martin nine times in a 56-10 UNM loss.

He walked out of Kyle Field with two PBUs — four left to tie Glover Quin's record of 31 PBUs with 11 games to go.

And then, nothing. Tennessee Tech didn't throw at him. New Mexico State didn't. UMass and Wyoming targeted him four times each — no PBUs against either. San Jose State threw at him once.

There was a developing irony, too: as Martin was effectively shutting down the right side of the field, Zach Morris was over on the left, surging up the Mountain West leaderboard in PBUs. They have to throw somewhere, right?

But for Martin, there were six games left, four PBUs to go. His family would text or call with the same concern that comes with watching an hourglass move a little faster than expected.

They're not throwing at you.

And Martin would shrug. After all, what else could he do?

"They were always more on edge for me than I was," Martin said with a smile on Wednesday.

Besides, as defensive coordinator and cornerbacks coach Troy Reffett said, some teams will throw at any corner no matter the setting. Hawaii was one of them, targeting Martin six times in a 42-21 New Mexico win, the cornerback notching one more PBU before leaving with a foot injury.

Martin missed a subsequent trip to Nevada with that same foot injury. He bounced back to get one PBU against UNLV. Two to go. One more came against Boise State. One to go.

And on Saturday, Fresno State quarterback Logan Fife looked to his left on 3rd and 9 and found wide receiver Mac Dalena. Dalena broke on an out and looked back at Fife. Martin ran inside, shading Dalena before shooting for a pick with both hands over his head.

He didn't get it. Dalena went after the ball, stumbling into UNM's sideline. Martin walked down the sideline and went for the straps on his helmet, maybe a little mad about the pick, and all of a sudden tied for the most pass breakups in UNM history.

"It was on the back of my mind," Martin said that night. "But at the end of the day, I just love playing football. It didn't matter to me if I got it or not, for real."

But there was a boundary play, so to speak. The original ruling was that a receiver caught a ball out of bounds, Martin in the area. Not a catch. Not a true pass defended either.

But he might've got a foot in if Martin hadn't pushed him out of bounds. So, early Sunday morning, a stat correction was issued on a plane filled with players either exhausted or too excited to sleep.

Donte Martin was now UNM's career leader in pass breakups after five long, winding years of college football.

"I did it more for my family," he said, "so we always have a name in something. They wanted me to break the record more than I did, honestly."

And on Friday afternoon, that career will come to a close. Martin will be one of four seniors honored 10 minutes ahead of kickoff against Utah State and while he's counted down the practices, if not the games, he isn't thinking too much about it being his last time out.

Reffett isn't either. This is something that happens to every team, every year.

"I mean, I'm gonna miss being with him just because I like being around him," he said on Thursday. "And obviously, he's easy to coach. But this is part of the game."

But Reffett still remembers coming back to New Mexico in 2020 and meeting a player that was talented, but raw. Fast, but making a living on that speed more than his football IQ.

"Everybody thinks you just go out there and line up and cover somebody," Reffett added. "And there's a whole lot more to it than that."

Over the years, Reffett coached and watched as Martin steadily became one of the best corners in the Mountain West. A quiet, grinding presence, always progressing, always learning.

"With the young guys coming out here, seeing him work, seeing him in the meetings, how he learns, the attention to detail, the offseason, the work ethic. It's all of those things," Reffett said. "He doesn't have to say a whole lot as much as just show them how to do it.

"And this is the way you get great. And this is the way you get in the position to chase records, by coming out here every single day ready to work."

Friday will be the last — for now. Will that hit Martin?

"The person I am, I've been here for so many years, I don't see me crying about it," he said.

Which, in some ways, is fitting.