The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/787035
MARCH 2017 THE WOLVERINE 65 2017 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE MEASURABLES • At Nike's The Opening Finals, Martin ran the 40-yard dash in 4.57 seconds and the 20-yard shuttle in 4.15 seconds. He also recorded a 41.6-inch vertical jump and a power throw of 41.0 feet. Those numbers earned Martin a Nike+ Football Rating of 133.02, the 12th-best total at the elite camp. STATISTICS • As a senior, Martin caught 85 passes for 1,272 yards and 14 touchdowns. He also scored via punt and kickoff returns. • In his junior season, Martin tallied 73 receptions for 1,187 yards and 14 touchdowns. • As a sophomore, he pulled down 61 receptions for 759 yards and five touchdowns. • Had 20 receptions as a freshman for 231 yards. HONORS • As a senior, was named Iowa Gatorade Player of the Year. • Named Iowa Newspaper Association Class 4A All-State first team as a senior, second team as a junior and third team as a sophomore. • Chosen to the Des Moines Register Elite Team (all classifica- tions) in 2016, and made the newspaper's Class 4A first-team All-State unit as a senior and a junior. ALL-STAR GAMES AND CAMPS • Participated in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl on Jan. 7, 2017, but did not record a stat. • Attended Nike's The Opening regional camp in Chicago in 2015 and 2016. • Took home MVP honors at Don Beebe's House of Speed football combine in 2016. RECRUITMENT • Committed Jan. 29, 2017. • Took official visits to Iowa (Dec. 2), Notre Dame (Dec. 9), Michigan State (Jan. 13) and finally Michigan (Jan. 27). • Held only a few MAC offers in the spring before his senior season but finished with a list that included Auburn, Florida, Iowa, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oregon, UCLA and Wisconsin, among others. • Martin's recruitment was spearheaded by head coach Jim Harbaugh and newly hired passing game coordinator Pep Hamilton. The three of them jumped into a pool when Martin made the decision to commit. NOTABLE • Born Nov. 3, 1998. • Set a state record for catches in a career, with 239. Also fin- ished his career as the Class 4A leader in receiving yards, with 3,449, and receiving touchdowns, with 33. • Martin also excels in the swimming pool, where as a ju- nior he finished eighth in the 100-yard butterfly and 100-yard breaststroke at the state meet. He also plays baseball. • His sister, Ruby, is "a legitimate 2020 Olympics swimming contender," according to Press-Citizen.com. She qualified in eight of the 13 events at the U.S. Olympic Trials as a 16-year- old and placed as high as fourth (200-meter butterfly). 2017 PROJECTION Martin, like all other receivers in this class, will have a chance to get on the field because of openings left by graduations. Martin has been described as a natural pass catcher and a technician when running routes — two traits that coaches and quarterbacks love. Martin might not be quite the spec- imen classmates Donovan Peoples- Jones or Tarik Black are, but he gets open, catches everything and pro- duces consistently. THEY SAID IT Matthew Bain; Preps, Recruiting And Iowa Hawkeyes Reporter For The Iowa City Press-Citizen: "To me, his two best talents are his route running and his hands. That's just raw, natural receiver talent. When Oliver catches the ball, you don't even hear it. It's ridiculous how good his hands are. "Take the separation he creates in the air with his vertical and with his strength, getting those smaller DBs off of him, then you put that with his speed to be able to break away from DBs, and then you put that with his hands, which I think are better than anything, and you have a special receiver. "Before I moved to Iowa, I covered preps in southern Califor- nia, and I've seen some in Phoenix as well, and then in Iowa — and he's the best receiver prospect I've ever seen." Flower Mound (Texas) Marcus Head Coach Gerry Stanford (coached Martin at U.S. Army Bowl practices): "Oliver did a great job for me. He picked things up very quickly and was a very consistent route runner. He has very trustworthy hands, and he does a good job of creating space and tracking the ball. "I assume he is going to play in the slot and will be do great job of creating a play when a play needs to be made, particu- larly on third down. He will be a strong possession guy, and he's got a big enough body to work the middle of the field." Linebackers Coach Chris Partridge: "Oliver is the kind of guy who just performs over and over, no matter what he gets into. He was phenomenal for his high school team. He went to these camps and opened eyes. He went to the all-star game and showed even more people that he is just the best player wherever he is — whether it's in his high school, at a camp, at the Army All-American game. "All the reports are that he's the best guy and formed a great relationship with our incoming quarterback, Dylan McCaffrey, and with Donovan Peoples-Jones and Tarik Black being on this national circuit. He's very explosive and very fast. He can run strong, vertical routes. Oliver is an All-American swimmer as well, which shows the quality of athlete he is." OLIVER MARTIN WIDE RECEIVER 6-1 • 189 WEST H.S. CORALVILLE, IOWA RANKINGS STARS NAT. POS. STATE ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ 206 35 1 ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ 216 30 1 ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ 47 7 1 ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ — 60 3 Martin set an Iowa prep record for career catches (239), and also finished as the Class 4A leader in receiving yards (3,449) and receiving touchdowns (33). PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM MATTHEW BAIN, REPORTER FOR THE IOWA CITY PRESS-CITIZEN "To me, his two best talents are his route running and his hands. … He's the best receiver prospect I've ever seen."