U of Mich Football Latest Recruit is an Eighth Grader
The Detroit Free Press recently reported that “As Division 1 college scholarship offers for sub-high school players are becoming the new normal across some of the country’s most fertile areas of football talent, this one sticks out for its location in the lightly-recruited New England region.
“Cambridge (Mass.) Buckingham, Browne & Nichols eighth-grader Tyler Martin announced on his Twitter account on Thursday that he received an offer from Michigan football.”
Tyler Martin stated on Twitter that he was “Extremely excited and honored to receive an offer from The University of Michigan! Huge thanks to @FBCoachDBrown @CoachJim4UM @Coach_Willey_FB #GoBlue · Cambridge, MA”
If you see young Martin at play there is no doubt he’s good. Here he is, on both sides of the ball, in a highlights film:
However, the most casual observer is going to ask, is he simply good for his age? His competition is very young, much smaller than him, incredibly slow compared to what he will face in high school, let alone college. The Detroit Free Press pointed out that he is already “standing at 6-foot-3 and 227 pounds before his freshman year of high school, Martin started every game this past season for the Knights as a tight end and linebacker, leading the team in tackles with over 100.” Amazing numbers and he has an enormous amount of growth ahead of him, but this still seems rather risky.
This was how the story was treated back in Martin’s Boston hometown area by the CBS affiliate:
Harbaugh’s entire career has been heavily based on making bold decisions. This is not an exception. Only time will tell if it will pay off.