When Windsor Forest’s new head football coach, Willie Martin, sought a quarterback, he found a household name.
Literally, his son Jayden Martin was home after transferring to Windsor Forest for the remainder of his sophomore year when Willie Martin accepted his first head varsity football coaching position in February.
“Jayden gives us the extra dimension on the offensive side of the ball that we need,” Willie Martin said. “He’s really dynamic at quarterback. He can make every throw on the field at a high level.”
Jayden last played quarterback as an eighth-grader on the junior varsity team at Crestwood High School in Sumter, S.C., where his father was the varsity squad’s offensive coordinator for six years before coming to Savannah. For his freshman and sophomore seasons at Crestwood, Jayden was a two-way player starting at wide receiver and either safety or cornerback, as well as a kick and punt returner. He took some snaps at quarterback.
“He’s always been a wide receiver/defensive back,” his father said. “He’s just a kid, a super athlete who can play quarterback if you need to.”
The Knights needed him to after quarterback Jr Rowland left with his father, offensive coordinator Zane Rowland, now the new head coach at North East Carolina Prep in Tarboro, N.C.
Willie Martin doesn’t think Jayden’s move to full-time quarterback on offense – while still starting as a defensive back – will be an issue. His son knows the offense, which the coach described as “a lot of RPO (run-pass option), spread-type offense. I run a lot of gap-scheme runs. It’s really fun to watch.”
Jayden, about 5-foot-11 and 175 pounds going into his junior year, acknowledged he had an advantage on other quarterback candidates when it came to learning Willie Martin’s offense.
“I know about every play in the playbook,” said Jayden, 16, who believes his skill set fits the offense. “I like to get the ball in the air, get it to my teammates. We’ve got great running plays in the playbook. I like flex, too.”
Jayden got to know some of his new football teammates last spring on Windsor Forest’s standout track and field team. The Knights were particularly loaded in the sprints, with Martin running the third leg on the 4x100 relay team, which placed third at the GHSA Class 3A state meet.
That speed will translate to the gridiron as the Windsor Forest athletic program has moved up to Region 3-4A.
“We’re going to try to use jet sweeps with our really fast players and get them the ball quickly so they can get the ball in open field and make plays for us,” Jayden said. “The offense is really hard to stop.”
He said in a recent interview that the team is picking up the new offense “really quickly.” He plans to hold up his end by making a smooth transition to QB this season.
“I don’t think it’s that much of a switch because when I played wide receiver, I didn’t learn just what my position does at wide receiver,” he said. “I learned the whole concept because I was moving around a lot at different wide receiver positions. … I even had to play quarterback sometimes. I just had to learn the whole concept.”
Early success at QB
He recalled running this playbook three seasons ago with the Crestwood JV, and the team went 8-2, though it could have been 9-1.
“The first game of the season, it was the last play of the game and I scored, but they said I didn’t, so we lost that one by a touchdown,” Jayden recalled of a dive play at the goal line.
Martin moved up to varsity as a freshman, and last season caught 36 passes for 393 yards and six touchdowns as well as rushed for 216 yards and two TDs on 15 carries in 10 games. He also was credited with four interceptions and seven passes defensed.
Colleges have taken notice of Martin, with offers coming from Appalachian State, Coastal Carolina, Howard, North Alabama, Old Dominion and West Georgia, his father said.
They likely are projecting him in college at receiver or cornerback. For 2026 and likely 2027, however, Jayden will be on film from behind center.
“I don’t think it hurts (recruitment). I think it boosts it,” Willie Martin said. “They get to see that’s he’s a really smart kid and he’s a leader.”
Jayden believes his versatility provides more chances for colleges to be interested. He understands that the demands at QB will logically keep him from playing special teams, but he would like to start and play full games at defensive back. His college future is probably as a cornerback, he said.
“I think cornerback is most likely to happen because of my ball skills,” Jayden said. “When the ball is in the air, I’ll just go get it. That’s why teams are recruiting me more as a corner than a wide receiver. The teams that are recruiting me for wide receiver, I feel like they like my athleticism. I’ll get open but the ball doesn’t have to be good for me to go up and get it.”
Family business
Jayden’s older brother, Javion, was a QB at Crestwood (Class of 2024) who went to North Carolina Central before transferring this year to South Carolina State. Younger brother Jace, 12, is a seventh-grader whose arm talent makes him a QB to watch, his dad said. Baby brother Jakaiden, 1, is a ways off from his athletic career.
Their sister, Javiah, a multi-sport standout at Mitchell County High (Class of 2026) in Camilla, will be playing basketball at Albany Tech.
“I’m going to have the opportunity to have all of my kids play college sports when it’s all said and done,” said Willie Martin, 40, a former three-sport athlete at Mitchell-Baker High who played running back at Albany State.
In the meantime, Martin is focused on this year’s team at Windsor Forest, which shares the same Knights nickname as Crestwood. Martin wants to build lasting success, beginning with 2026.
“We’re looking forward to it,” he said. “We’ve got the athletes to compete. We’ve just got to play at a high level. If we compete at a high level, I’m telling you, we will be fine.”
Photos courtesy ZAB Photography
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