Ivory Kelly-Martin committed to being a Hawkeye, on and off the field
By Pat Harty
IOWA CITY, Iowa – As he continued to fall on the depth chart from a starter all the way down to fourth team, it was easy to assume that Iowa running back Ivory Kelly-Martin would choose to transfer.
College players do it all the time, mostly in search of more playing time, or a better fit.
Kelly-Martin started the 2018 season opener, and six games overall that season, but he was plagued by injuries for much of the season, and for much of his career as a Hawkeye.
His inability to stay healthy caused Kelly-Martin to fall behind classmates Mekhi Sargent and Toren Young on the depth chart, and then Kelly-Martin fell even further due the emergence of true freshman Tyler Goodson, who became the starter at running back late last season and a fan favorite.
Young bypassed his senior season to give professional football a chance, but Goodson and Sargent return to give Iowa a solid-one-two punch at running back.
So it would’ve been easy for Kelly-Martin to transfer just under those circumstances.
But combine his fall on the depth chart with the toxic culture that has existed at Iowa for black players, and it’s kind of shocking that Kelly-Martin, who is black, didn’t transfer.
“Now more than ever I know that my place is here,” Kelly-Martin said to the media on Friday. “I feel like I have a huge role to play on this team as a leadership role, as a player role, and also my biggest concern is I want to make sure that I graduate. I want to make sure I have my academics in the bag. And I feel like I have some really good options here moving on afterwards.
“I want to be able to learn and make connections, and I feel like I’ve made a lot of connections here. I don’t feel like leaving this place would help me in like a really big way.”
What Kelly-Martin is really saying is that there are some things more important than even big-time college football, and he feels that a degree from the University of Iowa will help him immensely once his playing days are over whenever that might be.
Kelly-Martin also sees positive changes occurring in regard to how the black players are treated at Iowa, and he is excited to be a voice and a leader for change.
Kelly-Martin is one of 21 players, including 12 black players, who recently were named to Iowa’s Leadership group for the 2020 season.
“This past week has been amazing for people to be able to voice their opinions and everything,” Kelly-Martin said. “And with everything out in the open, we’re really able to be ourselves when we’re walking around the weight room. We’re able to be ourselves when we’re talking to the coaches and we’re able to be ourselves in the locker room and really be able to bond our players.
“And it’s not just a bond between the players that has grown. It’s also a bond between the coaches.”
The Iowa football team is leading a movement that now shows signs of becoming a national trend as black student-athletes from across the country are becoming unified and speaking out against racial disparities.
Iowa strength and conditioning coach Chris Doyle was put on paid administrative leave after numerous former black players pointed to him as the biggest problem with Iowa’s culture.
The culture under Doyle has been described as a toxic mix of racial disparities and bullying.
Some of the former players also have described it as walking on egg shells.
“I’m sure that I can speak for a lot of the guys on the team that, yes, it felt like that,” said Kelly-Martin, who is from Plainfield, Ill. “There was an atmosphere where you did have to look out and kind of watch your back and you always has to be on your toes at times.
“But throughout this week, there have been so many conversations that have been made, there’s been so many talking about change, and we’re hopeful that is this actually going to happen. These last couple days in the weight room and outside on the field, we can all tell that there’s a clear difference between how it is now and how it was then.”
But even with a different culture emerging, Kelly-Martin still could find it hard to earn playing time with Goodson and Sargent now firmly established.
The fact that Kelly-Martin is willing to stay at Iowa despite the likelihood of not being a starter says a lot about him and about his commitment to causes greater than him.
Kelly-Martin never has been a big talker, but the events over the past two weeks has caused him to be more expressive.
Kirk Ferentz became aware of that following a zoom call with his players about a week ago when he met with Kelly-Martin individually.
“That’s probably the most I’ve heard him talk in his entire career accumulative that evening,” Ferentz said. “Very well thought out points, he had been thoughtful.
“So my point is the discussions really began in earnest a week ago Monday in light of all the national events that were coming to surface. And that really sparked some good, candid conversations with our players and staff Monday night and Tuesday morning. But that’s not quite the same as being in person and that’s the impact of this past Monday.”
Kelly-Martin has two seasons of eligibility remaining, which means he could earn his degree from Iowa and then transfer to another school as a graduate transfer for his final season.
But for now, he is focused and committed to being a Hawkeye for reasons that include more than just football.
There is something to be said for staying the course and finishing what you started.
Former Iowa player Devonte Young, who used up his eligibility last season, earned the respect of his teammates and coaches for staying the course despite mostly playing just on special teams.
It’s easier sometimes to leave a tough situation than to stay and compete and grind.
But some things are worth fighting for and Kelly-Martin is determined to stay the course for reasons that stretch far beyond the playing field.
And that says a lot about him.