1st Year as Assistant Football Coach – Defensive Line Coach
Hometown: Hull, Georgia
College(s): Wingate University
LeJacque “LJ” Martin enters his first season on the coaching staff for Dodge City football, serving as an assistant coach overseeing the defensive line.
Martin comes to Dodge City after five years at the University of Georgia, working as Player Development Coordinator and Strength and Conditioning intern from 2021 to 2024. During his time at Georgia, the Bulldogs won two SEC championships (2022 & 2024) and back-to-back national championships in 2022 and 2023. He helped oversee team development on and off the field, including academic support, along with compliance, housing, and other aspects of being a student-athlete.
In 2020, the Georgia native served as the defensive line coach at the University of Pikeville, an NAIA school in Kentucky. His primary duties were to work with the defensive line to enhance their skills and anchor the front of the UPIKE defense. He assisted in academic coordination by setting up tutoring and other academic support.
The 2019 season saw Martin coach at his alma mater, Wingate University, working as an assistant defensive line coach and assistant special teams coordinator. He helped develop fundamental skills for the defensive line while also working heavily in recruiting and scouting with in-depth recruitment efforts. During his time at Wingate, the program went 10-2, marking the winningest season in program history, and reached the NCAA Division II playoffs. Before his time at Wingate University in 2019, he was the defensive line coach at Madison County High School in Georgia from 2016 to 2018. He developed and implemented defensive strategies for the defense, worked on player development, and coordinated and executed in-game and practice plans for development and gameplay. His coaching career started as a student assistant linebackers coach at his alma mater from 2014 to 2015.
In college, he played at the junior college level at Sierra College in California, where he recorded 53 tackles as an outside linebacker in his sophomore season (2012), leading to him transferring to Wingate University (NCAA DII). In two seasons at Wingate, he finished with 28 tackles in 17 games. In high school at Madison County High School, he was a multi-sport athlete participating in football, wrestling, and track; he helped guide Madison County to its first Georgia state playoff visit in school history.
Martin earned his Bachelor of Science in Sports Science from Wingate University in 2016.
