Kam Martin’s first year as UCF running back coach in 2023 blossomed into one of the most productive seasons in Knight history when it comes to running the football.
Martins and his backs helped UCF rank fourth nationally in rushing at 228.2 yards per game, the third-best average in Knight history (behind 265.2 in 2018 and 234.8 in 2007). UCF also ranked eighth in total offense at 487.0 yards per game (fifth-highest average all-time at UCF), second in the Big 12 Conference in both categories.
Leading the way for the Knights was running back RJ Harvey, who gained 1,416 rushing yards (fourth-highest season total at UCF and most since 2007) and scored 16 rushing touchdowns to rank sixth nationally, second in Big 12 and tied for second all-time at UCF. He ran for more than 100 yards in seven of his last eight games in 2023, including a career-high 206 in a landmark win over 15th-ranked Oklahoma State. Harvey was a 2023 Doak Walker Award semifinalist.
Martin, a former Auburn running back who spent the 2021 season as a recruiting and offensive assistant at UCF, returned to Orlando in March 2023 as the Knights’ running backs coach under his former collegiate head coach, Gus Malzahn.
Martin joins the Knights from Texas State where he was named the running backs coach in December 2022. He spent the 2022 season at Incarnate Word (UIW), where he helped the Cardinals set the program's single-season rushing record and compile the nation's top scoring offense among FCS schools.
UIW rushed for 3,011 yards last season to surpass the previous program record by more than 1,000 yards. Under Martin's direction, Marcus Cooper rushed for the sixth-most yards among FCS players with 1,436 to claim All-Southland Conference honors.
Cooper set the program record with 254 rushing yards on 20 carries in a 66-7 win against Northwestern State on Nov. 21, 2022, highlighted by 78-yard and 68-yard touchdown runs.
Incarnate Word rushed for 200 or more yards in eight games, amassing 300 yards rushing three different times. With the standout running game, UIW led the nation in scoring offense, averaging 51.5 points per game.
The Cardinals also won the Southland Conference championship for the second consecutive year and reached the FCS Playoff semifinals for the first time in school history.
In 2021 at UCF, Martin worked with a talented group of running backs that began 2021 with a bang, as veteran Isaiah Bowser ran for 172 yards and the game-winning TD in the season-opening comeback win over Boise State and then accounted for four first-half rushing TDs a week later versus Bethune- Cookman. Johnny Richardson ended up leading the Knights in rushing with 733 yards that season, ranking seventh in the AAC in all-purpose yardage at 96.92 per game. He earned fourth-team All-AAC honors from Phil Steele.
Originally from Port Arthur, Texas, Martin was a standout tailback at Auburn under Malzahn. He finished with 1,564 career rushing yards, 29th all-time at Auburn. Martin contributed a team-high 84 yards rushing against Arkansas in 2019 and was on preseason watch lists for the Doak Walker and Earl Campbell Tyler Rose awards.
As a junior in 2018, Martin was one of the starters at tailback, recording 458 yards rushing on 103 carries. He had 116 rushing yards against Liberty and gained 58 yards versus Purdue in the Music City Bowl. As a true freshman, he had 176 yards rushing in the second half vs. Alabama A&M, with two TDs--in the second-best, second-half rushing total in Auburn history.
A consensus national top 300 prospect out of high school, Martin was a versatile all-purpose athlete from Memorial High School in Port Arthur. A four-year starter, he also played for the USA Football U19 national team in the 2016 International Bowl in Arlington, Texas. Martin amassed more than 3,500 combined rushing and receiving yards and 44 TDs in his prep career. He had 962 rushing yards and six TDs on 143 carries and 10 receptions for 133 yards as a prep senior in 2015. Martin also added 903 rushing yards and 17 TDs in his junior season—plus 1,060 yards and 16 TDs as a sophomore.
Martin ran anchor on the Memorial 4x200-meter relay team that set a national record at 1:23.84 at the district meet and later captured the 2015 Texas Class 6A state title in that event.
His cousin Jamaal Charles, also from Port Arthur Memorial and a college standout at Texas, was a four-time Pro Bowl selection at running back with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Martin received the 2019 Hard-Fighting Soldier award from the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He graduated from Auburn with a degree in business in December 2019.
| 2021 | UCF | Recruiting/Offensive Assistant |
| 2022 | Incarnate Word | Running Backs |
| 2023 (Spring) | Texas State | Running Backs |
| 2023-pres. | UCF | Running Backs |