Oklahoma State DB Martel Van Zant was born deaf, but his play on the football field speaks volumes

	Oklahoma State starting cornerback Martel Van Zant is deaf, but he is able to communicate with the help of his interpreter, Allie Lee (right). AP
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By Cory McCartney, SI.com

The Spirit of Oklahoma State Marching Band filled Boone Pickens Stadium with the brassy sound of the school's fight song, Ride 'Em Cowboys, as junior cornerback Martel Van Zant received slaps on his helmet from teammates after separating Nebraska's Maurice Purify from the ball.

Amidst the roaring crowd of 40,000-plus orange-clad OSU fans, some could be seen with their hands raised above their heads, waving their wrists back and forth.

It's the sounds that define college football -- the crowd, the marching bands, the thud of a collision -- but to Van Zant there is only silence. He can feel the vibrations from the screaming crowd and from a hit, but he is unable to hear the referee's whistle and must use his eyes to confirm the play is over. Van Zant is deaf, born without eardrums after his mother suffered from chicken pox while pregnant, but he has risen above his handicap and with the help of his interpreter, Allie Lee, Van Zant is now starting for the Cowboys.

"A lot of people, they focus on that deaf side and they tell me 'Good job' and 'Congratulations' and that 'You're doing well for a deaf person," Van Zant says through Lee. "You know, I understand that, because that's what a lot of the public sees and that's fine."

What most people don't often see is that Van Zant is a 6-foot-1, 210-pounder who runs a 4.4 40-yard dash and has blossomed into one of OSU's best defenders. He's overcome his handicap, but just as important he often makes people forget that he can't hear.

"He has great awareness," says Cowboys secondary coach Joe DeForest. "He has to know a little bit about the total defense and the total offense and how we get things in more than another corner."

Van Zant is fourth on the team with 37 tackles and has an interception, a sack and a forced fumble. More importantly, he wants you to look beyond the disability and see what he truly is.

"I'm a deaf athlete, but I don't want to be called a 'deaf athlete,' " he says. "I'm an athlete first."

Leveling the field

Growing up in Tyler, Texas, Van Zant wasn't made to feel any different than other kids. The only deaf member of his family, he was put into a regular school after second grade and despite thriving in school, he had to overcome the preconceived notions some people had of someone dealing with a disability.

"I felt like I was just as equal as anyone else, just as capable," Van Zant said. "You know, people don't really think that I'm dumb, but some people tend to think that because I'm deaf I might lack a little bit in experience and intelligence. My family didn't treat me as a deaf person."

Through sports he leveled the field, and distanced himself from his classmates. He began playing soccer, basketball and track before discovering football in the eighth grade. By the time he finished his career at Lee High, he had 21 interceptions and was named to the Texas Top 100 prospects list, earning him the attention of Arizona, Colorado, Oklahoma State, SMU, TCU and Texas A&M.

Says Cowboys coach Mike Gundy: "If he wasn't deaf, I think he would have been a national recruit. I think because of that it scared a lot of people away."

But it didn't deter former OSU coach Les Miles, who was the first to offer Van Zant a scholarship as a junior.

"Some of the other schools, they were a little tentative on recruiting because it was their first experience with a deaf athlete or they just didn't know how to go about working with a deaf athlete," Van Zant said. "[Coach Miles], he has a deaf brother, so that was a little easier for me. He knew some signs and stuff."

If there was any trepidation within the staff about Van Zant's coming to Stillwater, secondary coach Joe DeForest says Martel's desire to play the game quickly put it to rest. "Of course there's hesitation, but [it disappears quickly] once you realize that the kid has so much awareness and he wants so much to be good," DeForest said.

There was still the matter of communicating with Van Zant, but when he signed with the Cowboys in February 2003, it caught the attention of a heating and air-conditioning technician who saw the opportunity of a lifetime.