Joe Martinek

"Jersey" Joe Martinek (born February 8, 1989) is an American former football fullback. He is the all-time high school leading rusher in New Jersey state history with 7,589 yards and was a running back at Rutgers. He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the New York Giants after the 2012 NFL draft. Joe then played professionally in the Italian Football League for the Parma Panthers.

High school Martinek was an average athlete at Hopatcong High School in Hopatcong, New Jersey, playing American football and track & field. As a senior running back at Hopatcong High School, Martinek was named the state's 2006 Gatorade player of the year after finishing the season with 2,081 yards rushing and a career total of 7,589 yards for the Chiefs. He became the first player in New Jersey to gain more than 7,000 yards, and at the time of graduation was ranked 38th on the all-time high school football rushing list.

Martinek was seventh in the state in scoring as a senior, with 160 points, and had the second-best single-game rushing total in New Jersey as a senior with 396 yards on 31 carries and four touchdowns vs. Jefferson Township High School. He garnered First Team All-State honors by the Associated Press and The Star-Ledger. He was invited to play in the NY/NJ High School All-Star Classic. On defense at linebacker, he recorded 54 tackles, four sacks, three interceptions and nine pass breakups. On special teams, he was 31-of-34 on field goal attempts (and 6-for-6 on attempts of 50 yards or longer) and punted 16 times with a net average of 46.6 yards.

Martinek appeared in the January 11, 2007 edition of Sports Illustrated in the “Faces in the Crowd” section, highlighting his New Jersey state rushing record and special teams statistics.

Martinek was also a standout track performer who won the state title in the javelin in 2007.

Rutgers While in high school, Martinek received an offer from Rutgers.

Martinek was redshirted his freshman season in 2007.

Parma Panthers In May 2015, Martinek signed and played for the Parma Panthers of the Italian Football League.

Martinek finished the season for the Panthers playing in 6 games, rushing for 567 yards on 99 carries and 8 TD's. He also caught 5 passes for 68 yards and 2 TD's. The Panthers finished 10-3 and reaching the championship game before losing to the Seamen Milano. Martinek finished the game with 34 yards rushing on 8 carries and had two receptions for 17 yards and a score.

Beyond football Martinek is formerly a Recruitment Advisor for Medix in Parsippany, NJ. He has worked for Miller Launch as a captain in Staten Island New York.