Picture perfect: Special moment captured for longtime teammates, families
It was just one picture. An image they had seen before, but one they wondered if they ever would again.
While sitting together in the players’ family section of Doak Campbell Stadium last Saturday, Justin Motlow’s mother, Lisa, and Corey Martinez’ mother, Michele, were cheering and clapping and hugging after yet another touchdown in Florida State’s 77-6 blowout against Delaware State.
It was one of 11 touchdowns scored by the Seminoles, but this one was more special than the rest.
Justin Motlow, a walk-on wide receiver who had never caught a pass in a Florida State game before that day, had just made a diving reception for a 12-yard touchdown. Teammates were mobbing him on the field. Fans, many of whom realized he was the first actual Seminole Tribe member to ever play and score for the Seminoles, cheered from the stands.
Lisa then looked up at the video replay board and saw a familiar scene. It was Justin being thrust into the air by Corey, his longtime friend and teammate.
Lisa quickly got Michele’s attention.
“It gave us chills,” Lisa explained. “I just happened to be sitting with Corey’s Mom. We always sit in the same section, but we had never really sat together before. And we were so happy for Justin catching the pass, and then I just happened to look up right at the moment Corey was lifting him up. It was amazing.”
It was amazing for so many reasons.
There was a time when the boys were celebrating touchdowns every week. Long before they enrolled at Florida State four years ago, Corey and Justin were high school teammates at Tampa Catholic. They had played together since the eighth grade.
At Tampa Catholic, Corey was a star offensive lineman and Justin was a standout receiver. Martinez would sign with the Seminoles as a four-star prospect; Justin would come as a preferred walk-on when a shoulder injury before his senior year caused college recruiters to back off.
But the success they enjoyed in high school has been much harder to come by in college.
Corey started three games at center as a redshirt freshman in 2015, but injuries kept him on the sideline for most of 2016; he has been the top backup to fellow junior Alec Eberle for most of this season. Justin has played sparingly during the past three seasons, mostly on special teams or as a reserve receiver.
It has been a long and challenging journey for both of them -- practicing every day and working out arduously for opportunities that may never come -- but their parents say neither has ever regretted their college choices.
“It was tough,” Lisa Motlow said. “It was so different coming out of high school, when he was always having so much success. I know it was tough for him. But that’s why we are so proud of the way he has been able to stick with it and persevere. As proud as we were of that touchdown, it made me more proud that he hung in there and never gave up.”
“Corey has always maintained a positive attitude along with a hard work ethic,” his father, Ronnie Martinez, said. “Corey has always been the type when he does something, he stays committed throughout the whole process. … That moment was so emotional because of all the hard work and sacrifices Justin and Corey have put in the past four years at FSU.”
Although they might not be household names to casual Florida State fans, Motlow and Martinez have received their share of attention at Florida State.
Motlow, whose father Clarence's mother is 100 percent Seminole, has made headlines for being the first member of the tribe to ever suit up for the FSU football team. And Martinez was praised last December for gathering gifts and team autographs for the family of an FSU fan who was killed in a tragic accident.
Behind the scenes, both have been representative of the many other Florida State players who rarely see action on Saturdays but give it everything they have at practices on Monday through Thursday. Players who, as head coach Jimbo Fisher put it, work tirelessly without knowing when -- or if -- their chance to shine will ever come.
“Talk about moments. You may get one moment,” Fisher said. “You may get a chance at a moment, and you've got to capitalize on it. To see those happen, you want it to happen for them so bad. … Because you know the hours and the hours of work where no one looked at them and appreciated it.
“You know what kind of person that takes? And in today's time, those people are fewer and far between to go out and do it. There's not a lot of them out there. To watch them do it, the joy, it makes you so happy. So happy.”
A great many things had to work out just right for a moment like Saturday’s to occur.
Martinez, who was playing left guard, and the other offensive linemen had to provide enough protection. Motlow needed to run his route precisely. Backup quarterback J.J. Cosentino had to make an accurate pass. And Motlow would end up having to dive to make the reception.
It all went off without a hitch.
“Ever since he went to Florida State, we dreamt of a moment like this,” Lisa Motlow said.
In hindsight, the serendipity was only beginning.
If Lisa hadn’t looked up at the video replay board at that precise instant, the families might not have known about their sons’ end-zone celebration. Michele wouldn’t have known to text Ronnie, who was back in Tampa watching on television. Ronnie wouldn’t have thought to contact a reporter in Tallahassee, asking if any photographers had captured the image through their lenses.
As it turned out, at least one photographer -- Tallahassee’s Logan Stanford, who shoots for Warchant and a photo service -- got the shot.
The photograph brought tears to the parents' eyes.
It was an image the families had seen before. It was symbolic of the players' friendship and hard work.
Back in their Tampa Catholic days, there was a photo of the boys in almost the exact same pose. Justin had scored another touchdown, and Corey was lifting him in triumph.
The uniforms were green in that photo. They’re garnet and gold now.
The thrill was even greater.
“Corey told Justin when he came in, ‘If you score, I’m going to come get you in the end zone,’” said Lisa, who is now trying to locate the old photo to have it framed with the new one and given to the coaches at Tampa Catholic. “It all just played out perfectly Everything just fell into place.
"It was perfect. I can’t explain it.”
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Talk about this story with other Florida State football fans in the Tribal Council