Northern Star: Martin Sleen

Sleen and Hermantown will host Proctor this upcoming Friday at 7 PM.

HERMANTOWN, Minn.- Martin Sleen had his fair share of touchdowns in 2024. That trend continued in Week 1 when the junior running back found the end zone three times in Hermantown’s 52 to 7 win over Duluth Denfeld.

“When I’m on the field and I’m gone for a big touchdown, I don’t really have much going through my head. It’s all the stuff that we’ve put through practice. It’s a lot of muscle memory. You just see it and you kind of react to it after it’s happened, after you’re in the end zone. That’s when you know, I think I made the right decision,” said Sleen.

Which Sleen has certainly done according to the coach that leads him.

“Martin’s a special player. He’s got a lot of skills you can’t coach or teach. He’s been blessed with some abilities that are pretty amazing. He’s probably one of the fastest and most versatile backs that I’ve had up here in Hermantown,” said head coach Mike Zagelmeyer.

Like all good backs, number 21 knows he can’t do it without the guys up front.

“I think it’s just finding the weak link and finding the strong point of our offense, especially the line. You see a matchup with one of our lineman and if they pull here, you know that you can break a big one,” added Sleen.

As you can imagine, Sleen has already caught the attention of college scouts. But, the next chapter is on hold for now.

“A lot of people talk about Martin and they say well I’m glad he’s going to be graduating this year and they don’t know he’s just a junior. You know we’re going to have him for another year, which is kind of an amazing thought,” said Zagelmeyer.

A win-win situation for all involved.

“The sky’s the limit for that kid. We’re very excited to have him and the team rallies around him. He’s an exciting player for our team to have,” added Zagelmeyer.

Sleen and Hermantown will host Proctor this upcoming Friday at 7 PM.