Willie Martinez was Tennessee’s secondary coach from 2013 to 2016. He was also the assistant head coach throughout that time. Following his initial stint at Tennessee, Martinez was hired by Josh Heupel’s first on-field staff in Knoxville and later made stops at Cincinatti (2017) and Central Florida (2018–2020).
During his initial stint at Tennessee, Martinez worked as a recruiter and assisted the Vols in acquiring seven players ranked in the top 250, including Nigel Warrior and Jauan Jennings.
Martinez has stuck with his prior experience as an assistant coach with the Volunteers throughout the years, and that will come in very handy when Josh Heupel’s staff is recruiting.
This location is amazing. During a media availability earlier this week, Martinez stated, “It’s the same excitement that I had when I came back on the first day that I came here back in 2013.” It’s a location with a great deal of history, success, and a devoted following that only cares about success. They find it significant. You know exactly which school it is when you walk around wearing the Power T, regardless of the state, as I experienced when I was recruiting here in the past. It’s an incredible custom. I have never worked with a recruit who didn’t seem to enjoy himself when we brought him here. That’s how I feel right now and what I recall, and there’s so
Martinez could have stayed at Central Florida, but he chose to go back to Knoxville with Heupel. Something he considered during the press conference as well.
“When Coach Heupel took the job, we really didn’t know what was going to happen.,” he stated. “We were winning a lot of games where I was. It was amazing. I was given the chance to return to a special place like Tennessee and work under Coach Heupel—a fantastic leader, in my opinion—and then I had the option to stay. I’m thrilled to be at Rocky Top and am looking forward to my second round.
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