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EAST LANSING - Roland Martin can get that 6-foot-5, 330-pound frame moving, and his ability to "pull" and lead a powerful caravan on running plays has been a big part of Michigan State's ground success this season.
The offensive guard from Chicago is more agile, more effective and better able to deal with quick opponents as a fifth-year senior. But sometimes, he'd rather just stay inside and pick a shoving match.
He'll get one Saturday, when MSU (6-2 overall, 3-1 Big Ten) travels to rival Michigan (2-5, 1-2). In an intriguing individual matchup that is part of a crucial meeting of the lines, Martin will see a lot of U-M's 6-foot, 308-pound senior nose tackle, Terrance Taylor.
"He's a pretty good player, he's physical," Martin said of Taylor, who he encountered often a year ago in U-M's 28-24 win. "It's good, I like that. I don't like all the running around. Let's go at it right in the middle. Bull against bull."
Martin, the jewel of MSU's 2004 recruiting class and one of the highest-ranked high school linemen in the nation, is a third-year starter who is standing out like never before.
He has earned praise from line coach Dan Roushar for his offseason work and for his play in the first half of the season. He is starting to earn more attention from NFL scouts, who perceived him as a low-round pick at best entering his senior year.
"You see this with seniors, sometimes they start to smell the money," said draft analyst Jerry Jones, a former NFL scout who publishes a draft guide each year. "And that's a good thing."
Martin certainly has an NFL dream, along with a desire to leave MSU as a winner - and beat Michigan for the first time. Saturday's game, he said, "just means everything."
A friendly, low-key person by nature, Martin appears to be playing with more fire - and speed and power - this season.
"He's matured in a lot of ways," MSU senior tackle Jesse Miller said of Martin. "He's become a lot more focused, made (football) a lot more important, and making the little changes he needs to make. That's what I see."
Martin's play has helped Javon Ringer rush for 1,179 yards this season, the most net yards in the nation. The power rushing attack is the basis of this offense.
"They start with the run game, being a physical presence, see if you can handle that part," U-M coach Rich Rodriguez said.
But the Spartans have been slowed by the three best defenses they've faced: Cal, Iowa and Ohio State. MSU has averaged just 74.7 rush yards a game in those three games.
Taylor and his veteran linemates, tackle Will Johnson and ends Brandon Graham and Tim Jamison, make up what was supposed to be the Big Ten's best defensive line this season.
It has not lived up to that billing. But Graham (five sacks) is a star-caliber player, Taylor is a disruptive inside presence, and the Wolverines are allowing just 120.9 rush yards a game and 3.3 yards a carry.
"They have been able to stop the run at times," MSU coach Mark Dantonio said. "It will be a challenge for us."
It might be the most important facet of Saturday's game. If MSU's line can open holes for Ringer and protect quarterback Brian Hoyer, the Spartans should have a big edge overall.
A year ago, MSU rushed for just 15 yards in the first half against the Wolverines. The Spartans came out with more determination in the second half and ran for 176.
So both sides of this matchup - and both "bulls" - can point to recent success and failure.
"They're good players, it's the same batch of guys we played against last time,"' Martin said of the Wolverines. "They are who they are. They're Michigan."
