Sydney Brown is an enormous hitter, Jartavius Martin is a ball hawk, and each former Illinois safeties are mind readers.
OK, perhaps that last description isn’t true, but it surely sure seemed there was unspoken communication between the 2 after they played greater than 50 games side-by-side as Illinois elevated from a two-win team before their arrival to an eight-win bowl participant last season.
They each epitomized this system motto of “smart, tough and dependable” (sound familiar, Giants fans?) that Illinois head coach Bret Bielema installed in 2021 after he left Joe Judge’s staff in East Rutherford to take the reins in Champaign, Ailing.
“Sydney knows what I’m pondering and I do know what he’s pondering, loads of the times,” Martin, who goes by “Quan,” told The Post. “It allowed us to play fast and at a high level.”
Brown and Martin — two of the highest safeties available in what just isn’t considered a deep draft class — are about to face a recent challenge by changing backfield partners for the primary time in six years.
A mold of the 2 can be a surefire first-round pick, but teams just like the Giants which can be in need of a security as a substitute must resolve in the event that they are out there for a downhill run-gaps-shooter with sharp instincts like Brown or a defensive back with a 44-inch vertical leap and rangy coverage skills like Martin (who doesn’t pigeonhole himself as either a free safety or a slot cornerback).
Allow them to describe what they each most envy concerning the other’s abilities.
“His ability to play corner,” Brown said. “Being versatile like he’s, there’s so many advantages to stay in several systems.”
“The speed he plays with,” Martin said. “He does the whole lot 100 miles per hour.”
Brown and his twin brother Chase — prone to be drafted as a running back — were raised in Canada by a single mother (their father is former CFL player Darren Isaac) who was diagnosed with an auto-immune disease once they were 16 years old.
The three were living in a homeless shelter and reliant on the boys’ grandparents for support when fate intervened with a bunch family (the Yates) willing to let two teenage strangers move into their home as they attended a non-public school in Bradenton, Fla.
“If you end up north of the border, it’s almost like you’re blind to loads of American scouts, especially college scouts,” Brown said. “I don’t even know what I’d be doing right away — plumbing someone’s toilet or some kind of trade. But we went to Florida with the motivation to go to varsity and play football, and we ended up in the best situation. When you may learn from successful people, normally you decide up on their habits pretty quickly. That’s exactly what we did.”
At that very same time, about two hours away near Fort Myers, Fla., Martin was displaying the leaping ability in a unique arena that made him one in all the large gainers on the NFL Mix.
“My highschool basketball team would start the sport off with an alley-oop and I used to be the [dunk] guy,” said Martin, who took a pre-draft visit to the Giants’ facility. “That goes hand-in-hand with football and the nickel-safety role — having the ability to go high-point the ball presents a bonus over loads of guys.”
With Brown, Martin and cornerback Devon Witherspoon (a possible top-10 overall pick) in the identical secondary, Illinois disguised coverages, made aggressive calls and led the nation with 24 interceptions last season.
The 2 safeties were roommates on the mix, sharing notes on team visits to get one another comfortable every time circumstances allowed.
“If you end up at the most important stage of your profession, you desire to show you’re capable of perform,” Brown said. “The lights don’t get in your face and also you pee down your leg. I can handle the pressure. The largest respect you may get is that you just are a dependable person.”
There’s some friendly competition between all of the Illini alumni over who will get chosen first.
“As soon as I hear Quan’s name, it’s going to hit near home,” Brown said, “because I do know his journey and the way hard he’s worked to be within the position that he’s.”
In the long run, the Brown twins, Martin and Witherspoon helped one another get so far.
“Everybody goes to be off living their very own dream and doing their very own thing,” Martin said. “I wish them nothing but the very best. Possibly I’ll see them one Sunday or Thursday soon.”
