The half-joking warnings came daily during Stanford's high school camp last month, the new head coach urging the imposing linebacker to take it easy on the other players.
"Blake," David Shaw would implore, "please don't kill anybody today."
Blake Martinez tells the story with a chuckle, especially now that it has a happy ending.
The Canyon del Oro High School star verbally committed to Stanford late Thursday night, giving the Cardinal a potential two-way standout in its 2012 recruiting class.
The Scout.com recruiting service lists Martinez as a three-star recruit and the 27th-best linebacker in the country.
He chose Stanford over offers from Boise State, Oregon State, San Diego State and San Jose State. Arizona Wildcats coaches showed serious interest, Martinez said, "but I think they could kind of tell I was interested in leaving."
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"I want to check out other places, get out of town," he said.
Martinez was arguably Southern Arizona's most versatile player as a junior, registering 129 tackles and nine sacks at linebacker and catching 24 passes for 555 yards and 10 touchdowns as a tight end for a Dorados team that advanced to the Class 4A, Division I state championship game.
Schools noticed Martinez, but Stanford - led by Shaw, its 38-year-old coach - stood out. The Cardinal's offensive coordinator took over for Jim Harbaugh when he left for the San Francisco 49ers this winter and has so far continued the program's player-friendly vibe. Stanford is coming off a 12-1 season and an Orange Bowl victory over Virginia Tech.
"I just felt like the coaches were genuine people. I felt like I could play the best I could play with them there," he said. "Plus, the education … people keep telling me that this is four years that will pay off for the next 40 years of your life."
Martinez, who posted a 4.2 GPA as a a junior, hopes to major in either business or engineering.
He'll have company in California: Sabino graduate Keanu Nelson redshirted as a Stanford freshman last fall and is expected to contribute as a wide receiver in 2011.
Martinez said he was happy to verbally commit so soon; he's expected to sign a binding national letter of intent in February.
"It's great. Now, I can just focus on the season," he said. "I'm pretty solid. I don't really think anything will change."
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