Meet future Sun Devil Martell Hughes

TEMPE, Ariz. — During the 2022-2023 season Arizona State fans were introduced to the Swiss Army Knife, Cam Skattebo. Skattebo, the do-it-all all running back who ran the ball, passed the ball, caught the ball, and even kicked the ball for ASU.

What ASU fans may not know is that ASU is about to get yet another Swiss Army Knife in this year’s recruiting cycle.

Meet Martell Hughes, a do-it-all player from San Diego, Calif. Hughes is ranked as a three-star and the No. 92 best player in the state of California.

Martell Hughes and his introduction to football

Football is not for the faint of heart. The sport is very physically demanding and takes a lot of time and effort to get to the level you desire. For Hughes, early on he did not have any desire to play football. That is until one moment.

“So there’s a funny story about baseball,” Hughes began. “When I was younger, we used to have the pitching machine and the tee, and then I remember my last year they told me that other players will start pitching to us and I told my mom, no I’m too scared to do that,… so I stepped away from that and I’ve played football since.”

Hughes says he looks back now and laughs at the decision that he made knowing that football is far more physical than being hit by a baseball.

In the end, it looks like Hughes wound up making the right decision for himself.

Swiss Army Knife

Throughout the early years of his football career, Hughes primarily played safety at Madison High School in San Diego.

As so many high school players do throughout the country they wind up playing both sides of the ball, whether it be because of talent or injury-based needs. For Hughes, it wound up being an injury-based move to play both sides but that did not stop him from lighting it up his Sophomore year.

During his Sophomore year, Hughes racked up 

• 65 rushing yards 
• One rushing touchdown
• 71 total tackles
• 50 solo tackles
• 21 assisted tackles
• Three interceptions

Those numbers are extremely impressive considering that was Hughes’ first time playing both sides of the ball.

For his junior season, Hughes returned to just playing defense, but would later get the call back to the offensive side.

During his senior season, Hughes was committed to playing both sides of the ball, safety and receiver on offense. What the future three-star prospect did not know was what would come next.

Hughes continues to develop

During the season, the starting QB for Madison High School went down and he was tapped to play QB and defense at the same time. Not only did he play QB and safety, but played almost every possible position.

As the season went on Hughes’ body wore down and he was not able to finish the season due to injury.

His senior season stats read as such:

• Passing: 6/12 for 110 yards
• 5 carries for 18 yards
• 8 catches for 77 yards
• 205 total yards
• 30 tackles
• 18 solo tackles
• 12 assisted tackles
• Half a sack
• One interception
• Four pass deflections

Talk about the ultimate Swiss Army Knife for a team that needs someone to step up. With Hughes’ capabilities, it looks like Dillingham will not have any issues finding him a place to play.

The Good Days

When you get to this time of year the high school football season comes to an end for the majority of teams.

Some teams make the playoffs, some lose in the playoffs and some go on to win the state title, but there is one common factor in every team: the emotional connection between teammates.

Whether you win a state title or miss the playoffs, being a senior and playing your last game at the high school level is incredibly hard. For Hughes, going down and being injured for the final few games of the season was difficult.

He noted that he wanted to go out and finish the rest of the season with his teammates, many of whom he has known since his youth football days.

The one thing that Hughes says that he will miss is the laughs that he has in the locker room, at school and even just hanging out.

“Just the laughs, the two connections you build with friends and how long they last like, I’ve been playing football since I was five and I’m still best friends with the majority of the guys I started out playing with,” Hughes continued. “So definitely just the relationships and just being able to be yourself around those dudes laugh and have fun.”

The Recruiting Process for Martell Hughes

The recruiting process is always one of the most enjoyable, yet stressful parts of a career for high school seniors regardless of what sport they play. After playing multiple spots on the field in high school and excelling at all of them, Hughes began to be recruited by teams all across the country.

The one that stuck out to him initially, was Washington State, solely because of the man who recruited him, AJ Cooper. Cooper, who is currently the linebackers coach for Arizona State football, was at Washington State before he arrived in Tempe.

Hughes noted that Cooper would come down to his games in San Diego and watch him play. Cooper was watching Hughes even as just a sophomore.

As he progressed through his high school career Cooper started to recruit him more heavily including family phone calls.

“I remember my very first phone call with him,” Hughes explained. “And he first asked my parents if it was okay for him to communicate with me. And that was very different from any other coaches I’ve talked to because they never asked like, “It’s okay if I recruit your kid” just like getting my parents involved in that process was very like homely to me.” 

Arizona State and their family culture

Throughout the entire process, Hughes felt more connected to Cooper than any other coach.

When Cooper was hired at Arizona State he took a visit and realized that not only was Cooper like family to him, but so was the rest of the coaching staff.

“I got that feeling also at ASU, the culture is very family-based and you can tell that the staff really cares about their players,” Hughes said.

Hughes has since visited ASU many times since he committed on July 4th. This just further cements his pledge to Dillingham and ASU.

The future Sun Devil also attended multiple games this season to be around other players. He’s also been an active recruiter to fellow recruits.

The Sun Devils have a good one in the San Diego native.

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