When Ball State free safety Dae’Shaun Hurley went down with an injury against Colgate on Saturday, there wasn’t a sense of panic from the team.
Martez Hester trotted onto the field to take his place and played the rest of the game. Now, with Hurley’s status in doubt, it’ll be Hester’s job again to be the last line of defense with strong safety Brian Jones.
Just like last season, when Hester and Jones were the starting safety tandem until Hester suffered his own injury against Eastern Michigan. Last year, Hester played in seven games, recording 32 tackles and two interceptions.
“We’re friends off the field, so when we’re playing together, that lets us communicate a lot better,” Jones said. “Our biggest strength is being able to talk to each other and rely what’s going on, on the field.”
As safeties, it’s their job to be the last line of defense, the safety valves that can stop a ball carrier if everybody else can’t.
On Saturday, the pair helped hold Colgate to just 10 points. Iowa, bringing a much more explosive offense, will be an entirely different test.
Hester isn’t without experience. He started five games last season before his injury, ushering in Hurley. After Hester returned, he and Hurley were used in a rotation, giving both experience while allowing them to stay fresh.
So, when Hurley left against Colgate, Hester was able to step in and not miss a beat.
“It wasn’t a big shock to me, it felt like business as usual,” Hester said. “All we do here is play with a next man up mentality, so I never even blinked.”
As a key cog in the defense, Hester won’t be able to blink against Iowa either. The Hawkeyes had seven different players combine to rush for 166 yards in its win over Northern Iowa, and quarterback Jake Rudock passed for two touchdowns while not turning the ball over.
Both Hester and Jones said the communication before, during, and after a play will be the most important factor in slowing down the Iowa attack.
They focus on using hand signals while playing in loud environments where they can’t hear each other speak. Being a fifth-year senior, Jones has played the mentor role for Hester, just a redshirt junior.
“He taught me to go out there and relax, just play your game,” Hester said. “We’ve all been playing this for basically our whole lives.”
Jones said Hester brings a more physical element to the secondary which can spark the rest of the defense. Although Hester wasn’t the original starter when the season began, he said he understands Ball State has three capable starters in the safety positions and he’d have to be ready at any time to come in.
He’ll have to be ready,as Ball State faces an Iowa rushing attack that ran the ball 36 times last week and has made a living playing power running football.
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