Rivals250 LB Tyler Martin Breaks Down Commitment To Michigan
Tyler Martin has made his decision.
The 2022 Rivals250 linebacker out Cambridge (Mass.) BB&N committed to Michigan over offers from Boston College, Vanderbilt and Virginia at a ceremony in front of family and close friends on Friday evening.
For Martin, the decision came down to fit from all angles.
“When you think of college football and blue bloods, Michigan is always in the conversation,” Martin said. “Their history is second to none. They have the most wins ever. But I think the biggest thing that sold me on Michigan was the academic piece that Coach (Jim) Harbaugh was able to talk to me about. With him being a grad, it’s really cool to hear from him. He lived it as an athlete and now as the coach. I’m reasonable with myself and know football doesn’t last forever no matter how much I want it to.
“Michigan offers me everything that I’m looking for academically and athletically. With the guys on the team, I think I’m going to come in and fit in right away. I know some of the guys there, and the athletes don’t get special treatment. You have to stay on top of things academically, athletically and socially. That’s something that sold it for me. It’s a fit every single way.”
While Martin made his decision known this week, he actually gave Michigan a silent commitment last month while on a call with Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh and defensive coordinator Don Brown.
Loyalty was Martin’s biggest decision factor, and it became apparent on the call that Michigan would be his future home. By the end of it, Martin pulled the trigger and began the commitment process behind the scenes.
“I had a phone call with Coach Brown and Coach Harbaugh several weeks ago,” Martin said. “It lasted about an hour and fifteen minutes. It was a really good talk. Honestly, I had no intentions of committing going into it. I had a lot of the questions that I had answered by the coaches. It wasn’t all football. For me, it was hearing Coach Harbaugh and Coach Brown say they don’t always take commitments from guys this early. They said they were all in on me and committed to me. That was really awesome to hear.
“Loyalty is a huge thing for me. They’ve been loyal to me since I was a little 200-pound eighth grader. Knowing that they were all in with me and just the feeling that it was the right school for me led me to commit. I’m really, really excited about it.”
Brown, who has strong ties in New England, built a genuine relationship with Martin over several years, which also played a big role in the decision.
“He’s sort of like a father,” Martin said. “He’s unreal. Ever since eighth grade, we’ve called each other and checked in. We can talk about things other than football. That’s probably the biggest thing. I feel like I can’t say enough things about him and what he’s done for me as a football player. Going through this process, he was a rock for me. I knew he would always answer on the first or second ring. He’s just a great guy.”
As far as scheme fit, Martin is being recruited for the WILL spot in Brown’s defense. There have been some questions about Martin’s weight after he came in at 249 at the Under Armour Camp in Delaware this summer.
However, Martin is working with a nutrionist to slim back down and fully believes he’ll stick at linebacker at the next level.
“I feel like weight is a thing that gets brought up a lot,” Martin said. “I’ll admit that I hit the weights really hard and put on a lot of weight. Some of the weight didn’t play to my advantage. But I talked to Coach Brown and Coach Harbaugh, and they said they had two linebackers in the box on 95 percent of plays. The plan is for me to be a linebacker in the box. The goal is to be in the 235 range by the time I leave to Ann Arbor. I think I am a linebacker, and Coach Brown thinks I am.”
At 6-foot-2, 249 pounds, Martin is ranked as the No. 3 inside linebacker and No. 106 overall prospect in the country, per Rivals.com.
---
• Talk about this article inside The Fort
• Watch our videos and subscribe to our YouTube channel
• Listen and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes
• Learn more about our print and digital publication, The Wolverine
• Sign up for our newsletter, The Wolverine Now
• Follow us on Twitter: @TheWolverineMag, @Balas_Wolverine, @EJHolland_TW, @AustinFox42, @JB_ Wolverine, Clayton Sayfie and @DrewCHallett
• Like us on Facebook