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Tennessee's Martin almost perfect clone of Stewart Monday, April 17, 2000 By Ed Bouchette, Post-Gazette Sports Writer
Unsure that Kordell Stewart can return to his 1997 form, the Steelers drafted a quarterback yesterday who reminds them of . . . Kordell Stewart.
Tamaurice "Tee" Martin, an exciting if not consistently accurate passer who helped Tennessee to a national championship, becomes the latest in a long line of quarterbacks in waiting behind Stewart.
FOURTH ROUND
FIFTH ROUND
SIXTH ROUND
The Steelers, shut out in their attempts to pry quarterback Chad Pennington away from the New York Jets on Saturday, took Martin on the fifth round of the draft, the 163rd player chosen.
He was their centerpiece on the second day of a draft in which they made obvious attempts to boost their woeful passing game. Of their nine draft picks, they took three receivers, one quarterback and an offensive left tackle.
Their first pick yesterday was productive-but-slow wide receiver Danny Farmer of UCLA, on the fourth round.
They drafted Clark Haggans, an outside linebacker from Colorado State, and Martin on the fifth round.
Then, in the sixth, they drafted defensive end Chris Combs of Duke and Kent's Jason Gavadza, a tight end who is a deep passing threat and no blocker.
Martin was the most intriguing pick of the day. He is 6-1 1/2 and 221 pounds, a mobile quarterback who has had problems with his accuracy.
Sound familiar?
"There are a lot of similarities, there's no question," offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride said, comparing Martin and Stewart. "They're both great athletes, both have very strong arms, both were very successful in leading their college teams with outstanding records. It would be a natural comparison between the two."
Said Martin, "I am happy to be in the same sentence as Kordell."
Martin succeeded Peyton Manning at Tennessee and helped the Vols to the national championship during the 1998 season. But do the Steelers really need another project at quarterback?
They have Stewart, who has put three years in as their starter with no guarantee of a fourth. They signed veteran Kent Graham to come in from the bullpen if Stewart starts playing the way he did the past two seasons. They have Anthony Wright, a whip-armed rookie free agent virtually everyone in the organization who matters has said has great potential.
Now, instead of adding either a high-quality quarterback like Pennington or a camp arm, they've drafted someone who likely must make the team based on the six-figure signing bonus he will receive.
It will make for an interesting mix at training camp.
"It will be a challenge to give everybody enough work," Gilbride said, "because not only do you have two young guys, but you've got Kent, who's going to be new and has no familiarity to what we're doing.
"The only good thing is that we have five games this preseason so we have an extra week and an extra game. So, hopefully, we'll be able to divide it up equally and also give them an opportunity to learn what needs to be learned and then make some judgments as to who falls where."
Martin does have qualities that could make him a steal if he develops. He has a good arm, he's physically strong, he can run and he produced and won at the top level of the college game.
He had a better season as a junior, when Tennessee won the national championship and he threw for 19 touchdowns and only six interceptions while completing 57.3 percent of his passes. Last season, his completion rate dropped to 54.1 with 12 TDs and nine interceptions. He ran for 604 yards and 16 touchdowns the past two seasons combined.
"He didn't have quite the same year this year as he did before," said Kevin Colbert, the Steelers' director of football operations, "but this kid won at obviously the highest level, and he did so in a difficult situation.
"I think Tee Martin has a lot of intangibles to go along with some talent. He has some inconsistencies, but this kid has overcome those inconsistencies before, just in mechanics and things like that. I think this kid has tremendous upside."
The Steelers began yesterday by adding some more oomph to an underperforming corps of receivers when they drafted Farmer of UCLA. He is slow, running in the 4.6-second range, but he is 6 feet 3 and has had a knack for getting open and making big plays. He averaged 22 yards a catch as a junior when he caught 58 passes for 1,274 yards and nine touchdowns
. His production tailed off to 41 catches and 649 yards last season when he missed two games with a high-ankle sprain that plagued him throughout the season.
Coach Bill Cowher loved him, and he has been compared to Ed McCaffrey, a Pro Bowl player for the Denver Broncos.
"I think initially you can say that they are very similar," said Bob Bratkowski, the Steelers' wide receivers coach. "I think time will tell. McCaffrey has done things in the league, and Danny hasn't. But I think that is a fair comparison at this time."
Haggans, a pass-rushing end at Colorado State, owns the school sack record with 33, breaking the record held by Steelers linebacker Joey Porter. He did not run good 40 times this year, one reason he likely slipped in the draft, but the Steelers' scouts believe he plays fast enough. He will play outside linebacker.
Combs will try to win a backup job in the defensive line, which is now packed with new players from free agency and the draft.
Gavadza might have been the best value of the day. He is a deep threat in the passing game and was the fastest tight end in the draft. He doesn't block well, which is unusual for a Steelers tight end, but he caught 47 passes last season for 654 yards and seven touchdowns.
"If you watch some tapes on him," tight ends coach Mike Mularkey of the Steelers said, "there's a Navy game where he catches a seam route and there's a corner chasing him. He's got a little bit of a burst in him even after the catch. That guy couldn't catch him, and he was full stride trying to catch up to him."
One area in which the Steelers did not help themselves much was special teams. They did not draft many athletic receivers, linebackers or defensive backs who normally fill many of those jobs. They did get Pitt cornerback Hank Poteat on the third round Saturday; he was the seventh-leading punt-returner in the country last year.
"I think overall that we've created some very competitive situations on our football team," Cowher said. "As you know, when you do that, it's certainly going to raise the level of that position."
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Name: Danny Farmer