Cowboys' Van Zant shows strength in silence
Go ahead, yell at Oklahoma State cornerback Martel Van Zant from the stands. And opponents, let him have a big dose of your best trash talk. It doesn't bother him.
Van Zant is deaf.
"I don't hear it, so I don't mind," says Van Zant, signing his answer back to an interpreter at Big 12 media days. "But my opponents usually play harder when they find out I'm deaf."
A silent world is all Van Zant has known. His mother contracted chicken pox when she was pregnant with him, resulting in his loss of hearing.
And he's doing just fine. In fact, he's thriving. Van Zant led Oklahoma State with six pass breakups last fall and ranked fourth on the team with 67 tackles. The senior is penciled in to start for the second straight season. He's one of the Big 12's best and may have a future in the NFL.
But nothing gets the 6-1, 210-pounder going like a big hit: "I can feel a hit and tell when one is bigger than the other." Van Zant smiles. There's no need for interpretation.
But Van Zant needs his interpreter at his hip throughout the day--in classes, at practices. Teammates want to help by learning sign language. "But a lot of them, they want to learn the cuss words first," Van Zant says.
Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy feels Van Zant would have been recruited by all the big-time schools had he not been deaf. Some were unsure how to work with a deaf player, but that didn't scare then-Cowboys coach Les Miles, who has a deaf brother and knows American Sign Language.
Although being oblivious to trash talk has its advantages, Van Zant does have one big issue to deal with: the referee's whistle. "I have to watch other players and wait for them to stop moving," Van Zant says. "I also have to wait for the receiver to move."
What about late-hit calls?
He has to have had a few of those. "No," says Van Zant.
Oklahoma State could be one of the nation's biggest surprises this season. Van Zant and the Pokes will discover how good they are quickly; Oklahoma State opens the season September 1 at Georgia. Sanford Stadium will be loud.
"I won't be affected by the big crowd," says Van Zant. "I can focus on what's happening on the field. But when the crowd gets really loud, I can feel the vibrations."
