Got a flood of Justin Martin information today so I will pass along what I know based on talking to Justin and his family today.
1. Justin Martin was silently committed to Tennessee for the past couple of months. Tennessee has been aware of Martin from his high school days and monitored his move to junior college very closely. While the Vols might have been his first official offer as a JUCO, he has essentially always had a standing offer assuming he completed his academic requirements. Martin is still on schedule to graduate in the spring and enroll at the summer at whichever school he selects.
2. Martin and his family reached out to Tennessee today to let them know that he was going to open up his recruitment and that Tennessee should no longer consider him a commit. With Martin set to take four more official visits (Georgia, Auburn, Tennessee and LSU) next month, he and his family wanted to make sure Tennessee had a back up plan in place in case he elects to go to one of those programs. Originally it looked like Ugo Amadi was a backup plan, but with him also sort of in limbo right now the move to inform Tennessee was a courtesy, according to those I've spoken with.
3. Martin is very high on LSU and they are the team to beat right now. Martin's direct quote is "LSU is my front runner, LSU is my leader" Last week Martin's was visited by Corey Raymond and John Chavis (Martin wasn't at the meeting because he was on an official visit to Oklahoma) and I'm told that the coaches helped smooth over any concerns his mother may have about him going that far from home. According to Martin, his main focus is going to the school that can best prepare him for the NFL so that will be his No. 1 factor in making a final decision.
4. Despite the visits to Georgia and Auburn, I would still consider this a two-school race between Tennessee and LSU. The Tigers will get the final visit, with Tennessee set to get the visit the weekend before.
1. Justin Martin was silently committed to Tennessee for the past couple of months. Tennessee has been aware of Martin from his high school days and monitored his move to junior college very closely. While the Vols might have been his first official offer as a JUCO, he has essentially always had a standing offer assuming he completed his academic requirements. Martin is still on schedule to graduate in the spring and enroll at the summer at whichever school he selects.
2. Martin and his family reached out to Tennessee today to let them know that he was going to open up his recruitment and that Tennessee should no longer consider him a commit. With Martin set to take four more official visits (Georgia, Auburn, Tennessee and LSU) next month, he and his family wanted to make sure Tennessee had a back up plan in place in case he elects to go to one of those programs. Originally it looked like Ugo Amadi was a backup plan, but with him also sort of in limbo right now the move to inform Tennessee was a courtesy, according to those I've spoken with.
3. Martin is very high on LSU and they are the team to beat right now. Martin's direct quote is "LSU is my front runner, LSU is my leader" Last week Martin's was visited by Corey Raymond and John Chavis (Martin wasn't at the meeting because he was on an official visit to Oklahoma) and I'm told that the coaches helped smooth over any concerns his mother may have about him going that far from home. According to Martin, his main focus is going to the school that can best prepare him for the NFL so that will be his No. 1 factor in making a final decision.
4. Despite the visits to Georgia and Auburn, I would still consider this a two-school race between Tennessee and LSU. The Tigers will get the final visit, with Tennessee set to get the visit the weekend before.
