2007: Starting left guard helped lead the Fighting Illini to the 2008 Rose Bowl Game ... Named first-team All-American for the Associated Press ... Helped Illinois to a win at No. 1 Ohio State, including a punishing 8-plus minute drive to run out the clock and end the game ... Part of an offensive line unit that allowed just two sacks total against Iowa and #25 Michigan ... Led the way for 289 rushing yards and three rushing TDs against #5 Wisconsin ... Part of an offensive line that didn't allow a sack against #21 Penn State ... Paved the way for 288 rushing yards at Indiana, including 214 by Rashard Mendenhall, the most by an Illini runner since 1998 ... Led the way for 508 total yards and 378 rushing yards at Syracuse, Illinois' most rushing yards since 1998 ... Part of an offensive line that didn't allow a sack at Syracuse ... Helped pave the way for 277 rushing yards and three touchdowns against Western Illinois ... Protected for 316 passing yards against Mizzou, the best Illini aerial performance since Sept. 20, 2003, against Cal.
2006: Started and played in all 12 games at left guard ... Rushing offense finished first in the Big Ten and 10th in the nation with an average per game of 188.8 yards ... The 5.2 yards per carry led the conference and were fifth-highest in the nation ... Team rushed for 2,266 yards, the most since the 1973 season and the average was highest since 1978 ... Offense rushed for over 200 yards on seven different occasions ... Team rushed for 214 yards vs. Northwestern ... Blocked for team to rush for 316 yards vs. Purdue ... Helped pave the way for 202 yards rushing against Penn State, which had been allowing just 85 yards per game ... Helped produce 211 rushing yards and a 2-of-2 red zone performance against Ohio ... Helped pave the way for 209 rushing yards vs. Indiana ... Helped produce 252 rushing yards and a 3-of-3 red zone performance at Michigan State ... Helped pave the way for 345 yards rushing and a 5-of-5 red zone performance that resulted in five touchdowns against Eastern Illinois ... Academic All-Big Ten.
2005: Started 10 games at left guard ... Was in on 625 offensive snaps and 33 special teams plays ... Led the Illini to a perfect 18-for-18 in the red zone through the first four games ... Blocked for two 200-yard rushing games vs. Rutgers and San Jose State ... Earned Academic All-Big Ten honors.
2004: Earned Freshman All-America honors by Rivals.com ... Also named to The Sporting News' Freshman All-Big Ten team ... Started the final 10 games of the year and played all but five offensive snaps on the year at left guard ... Tallied 70 pancake blocks while allowing only one sack and seven pressures ... Part of an offensive line that paved the way for the Illini to rush for 1,699 yards and a 5.6 yard per attempt average.
2003: Redshirted.
High School: Earned Parade All-America honors and was named top offensive lineman in country ... Top-100 recruit according to Chicago Sun-Times ... PrepStar Dream Team member and All-American ... Named Top-100 recruit and second-best offensive lineman nationally by Rivals.com ... Recorded 55 pancake blocks as a senior ... A two-time All-State and All-Conference selection ... Made the Sun-Times Top-100 Chicago Area recruit list ... Named a first-team Riddell All-American ... Earned West Suburban Gold Conference Player of the Year honors ... Also garnered conference lineman of the year accolades ... SuperPrep All-Region selection ... Earned three varsity letters for football and three for the track team ... High school coach was John Belskis.
Personal: Full given name is Martin Edward O'Donnell ... Born Dec. 9, 1984 ... Son of Michael and Pamela O'Donnell ... Graduated in May of 2007 with a degree in history and speech communications ... Will be working on his master's degree in human resource education ...?Biggest thrill in sports was winning the 2001 8A state championship at Memorial Stadium ... Lists favorite athlete as former Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jerome Bettis ... Was an honor roll student every year in high school with a 4.0-plus GPA ... Plans to be a high school coach and history teacher upon graduation ... Was a member of Athletes Committed to Excellence.
