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Kansas.com | 07/26/2007 | OSU corner wants nothing special
Like most cornerbacks under the gun on an island, Martel Van Zant knows he has to keep his eyes locked in on what's going on around him.
But that's particularly true for the Oklahoma State senior. He is deaf.
"I can't hear anything," Van Zant said Wednesday through an interpreter at the Big 12 media days. "I can only feel vibrations."
When he ran sprints in high school in Tyler, Texas, the crack of the starter's gun gave him enough vibration that he came out of the blocks just fine. But he feels nothing from an official's whistle on the football field.
"When all the players quit plays, I know it's time for me to quit playing," Van Zant said. "When the ball moves, I know it's time for me to start playing. When I'm one-on-one with a wide receiver, I just wait until they move and try not to let them fool me.
"All I have is my eyes."
The 6-foot-1, 210-pounder is about to begin his second full season as a Cowboy starter. Last year, he had two interceptions and led OSU with six pass break-ups.
"You would never know he was deaf," OSU defensive end Marque Fountain said. "He's just like any other player. He reads body language and lips well. We have hand signals for defense, so he's OK there. He doesn't ask to be treated anything differently."
In fact, said Van Zant, "I think other players play tougher when they find out I'm deaf. That's OK. I don't give up anything to them."
That's the plan he and his family have taken his whole life. He was born deaf after his mother came down with chicken pox during her pregnancy.
Van Zant always went to public schools rather than a school for the deaf.
"In a deaf school, you mostly learn about signing and things for the deaf," Van Zant said. "I wanted a regular education. I doubt if I'd gone to a school for the deaf I'd be where I am in football."
At OSU, he has an interpreter with him at most classes and at all practices. But when coaches want to yell at him, Van Zant said, "They don't say, 'Tell, Martel, such and such.' They get up in my face and yell my name. And that's just the way the interpreter tells it to me.'
OSU's new defensive coordinator, Tim Beckman, yells so loud that Van Zant can feel the vibrations from his voice.
"Oh, yeah, he's really loud," Van Zant said. "He has spit coming out of his mouth."
Like most cornerbacks under the gun on an island, Martel Van Zant knows he has to keep his eyes locked in on what's going on around him.
But that's particularly true for the Oklahoma State senior. He is deaf.
"I can't hear anything," Van Zant said Wednesday through an interpreter at the Big 12 media days. "I can only feel vibrations."
When he ran sprints in high school in Tyler, Texas, the crack of the starter's gun gave him enough vibration that he came out of the blocks just fine. But he feels nothing from an official's whistle on the football field.
"When all the players quit plays, I know it's time for me to quit playing," Van Zant said. "When the ball moves, I know it's time for me to start playing. When I'm one-on-one with a wide receiver, I just wait until they move and try not to let them fool me.
"All I have is my eyes."
The 6-foot-1, 210-pounder is about to begin his second full season as a Cowboy starter. Last year, he had two interceptions and led OSU with six pass break-ups.
"You would never know he was deaf," OSU defensive end Marque Fountain said. "He's just like any other player. He reads body language and lips well. We have hand signals for defense, so he's OK there. He doesn't ask to be treated anything differently."
In fact, said Van Zant, "I think other players play tougher when they find out I'm deaf. That's OK. I don't give up anything to them."
That's the plan he and his family have taken his whole life. He was born deaf after his mother came down with chicken pox during her pregnancy.
Van Zant always went to public schools rather than a school for the deaf.
"In a deaf school, you mostly learn about signing and things for the deaf," Van Zant said. "I wanted a regular education. I doubt if I'd gone to a school for the deaf I'd be where I am in football."
At OSU, he has an interpreter with him at most classes and at all practices. But when coaches want to yell at him, Van Zant said, "They don't say, 'Tell, Martel, such and such.' They get up in my face and yell my name. And that's just the way the interpreter tells it to me.'
OSU's new defensive coordinator, Tim Beckman, yells so loud that Van Zant can feel the vibrations from his voice.
"Oh, yeah, he's really loud," Van Zant said. "He has spit coming out of his mouth."