The Long Road Home

Former Hokies Walk-On Orion Martin Kicks Off Final Season As Team Captain for the Program He Loved as a Child

On the nearly five-hour trek from Norfolk to Martinsville, Va., David Martin wept. It was January 2004 and he just dropped his son, Orion, off at Norfolk State. On the ride back, David and his wife grappled with the reality that Orion might not be in the best place for him. Certainly, it was not the school he wanted to attend.

Orion's dream remained Virginia Tech, the school whose name was emblazoned on his shirts and those of his younger brother, Cam, now a standout linebacker, when they were children. That was the team featured in football preview publications the brothers engulfed. That was the alma mater of Uncle Bobby, David's brother.

Instead, Orion attended Norfolk State for the simple reason that it was the lone school that offered him a scholarship.

The ride west on U.S. Route 58 is a distant, but still relevant, memory for David. He will take another ride west to Blacksburg this season for what will be Orion's final home game at Virginia Tech, where Orion is now a standout defensive end. Orion's journey from walk-on to team captain was unfathomable four years ago.

"It's been absolutely amazing," David said. "There were some real down times when we didn't know which way to go. We kept believing it would work for the best, but we didn't know in our minds how it would happen."

Said Orion: "It's been long and tough. It definitely wasn't easy."

As a defensive end and tight end at George Washington High School in Martinsville, Orion did little to distinguish himself statistically. He weighed just 215 pounds and attracted no college interest.

Orion enrolled at Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Va. The prep school route provided exposure, but at a cost. For David, it was sometimes spending his entire paycheck from his job as an English teacher at George Washington to pay tuition.

Orion nearly paid a bigger price: On his way to a game against Virginia Tech's junior varsity, his car flipped at a spot full of gravel where construction was taking place near his home. The car was totaled, although Orion left with just a scratch on his face. David feared the accident was a sign that Orion would never become a Hokie.

At the end of Orion's stint at Hargrave, only Norfolk State offered a scholarship. Right away, David observed it was not where Orion wanted to attend school.

"Daddy," David remembered Orion telling him, "Nobody else wants me. I'm going to make the best of it."

Meantime, Cam was one of the top prospects in the region and bound for Virginia Tech. As a heralded recruit, Martin earned a visit from Virginia Tech Coach Frank Beamer. David wanted to recruit Beamer for his older son as much as Beamer wanted to recruit David's younger son.