Michigan State's Drake Martinez wins Big Ten appeal

Michigan State signee Drake Martinez will be able to play for the Spartans in the fall after he won his appeal to the Big Ten for immediate eligibility.

Martinez, a junior college transfer linebacker, was originally precluded from playing in 2015. While he spent the 2014 season at Saddleback College, he was at Nebraska in 2013. His brother, Taylor Martinez, is a former Nebraska quarterback.

An in-conference transfer in the Big Ten means a student has to sit out for a season, meaning that despite his stop at Saddleback and a redshirt season at Nebraska, he would have had two seasons of eligibility at Michigan State.

After winning the appeal, he has three seasons. He was a three-star prospect both out of high school and entering the 2015 signing period according to Rivals.

Martinez transferred to Saddleback because of what the Detroit Free-Press said was an undisclosed illness. He's expected to be a possible contributor to Michigan State's special teams in 2015. And he may have a spot as a designated pass rusher given the comments of Michigan State co-defensive coordinator Mike Tressel.

"I mean he has a killer instinct blitzing, he wants to take your head off," Tressel said on signing day via the Free-Press.. "He'll flat-out tell you, and I hope Taylor would confirm this, 'Oh, coach, I beat Taylor in a race.' And Taylor, if you saw him running up and down the sideline on us two years ago, that's as fast an offensive player as I've seen – I got whiplash watching him run down the sideline. So if he runs faster than Taylor, that guy can move.

"But watch how he finishes blitzes, because he wants to get after you. Power and nasty. Not just power. But it looks at that moment like he wants to kill you. I don't know if I'm supposed to say that, but that's what it looks like."

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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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