Hundreds of people have talked to Port Arthur Memorial senior Kameron Martin about his future.
The decision on which college to decide on between Baylor and Texas comes down to Martin. ESPN.com lists him as a four-star running back and has him down for offers from some of the biggest names in the sport.
He committed to the Bears on July 15, 2014. That doesn’t mean the recruiting stopped.
Martin has until Wednesday, Feb. 3, to decide 100 percent where he will take his talents.
“I’m at 90 percent with Baylor right now,” Martin said.
Texas did not come calling to Martin until very late in the recruiting process, a situation that bothered him. What also is not working in the Longhorns’ favor right now is the announcement that running backs coach Tommie Robinson is leaving Austin to coach at Southern California.
Robinson spoke to Martin personally and was trying to make the Titans star flip schools. Then, Martin learned of Robinson’s decision to leave the Longhorns for the Trojans.
Martin sent out a tweet after learning the news of Robinson’s departure. The tweet was deleted, but read: “This recruiting game is crazy. You leaving but was just in my dm (direct message) telling me to come to Texas. Glad I pick Baylor where coaches loyal.”
Martin took Robinson’s decision to leave Austin so hard he cancelled a scheduled in-home visit by Texas coaches this past week. He went on an official visit to Waco last weekend.
“The recruiting is so crazy he (Robinson) will probably be down here next week recruiting me for USC,” Martin said with a laugh.
There is a local graduate who knows what Martin is going through with his recruitment. Former Central Jaguars star P.J. Locke is now in Austin but not before a little controversy surrounding his decision.
Locke flipped to the Longhorns after long being committed to Oregon. Then, days before National Signing Day, calls from the Longhorns started to come in.
Just like Martin, Locke was not too thrilled with Texas coaches who waited so long to show interest.
“Texas was my dream school,” Locke said. “I was mad they offered so late. It is a stressful feeling. The one thing my parents told me that stuck with me the most was: ‘If you have an itch, you have to scratch it.’”
So Locke started to put away his anger at the Longhorns program. There were sleepless nights pondering his decision.
“I always said I wanted to go to a school on the upswing and not one who was already set in winning,” Locke said. “I tweeted out that I had made my decision and would stay with Oregon. Then, I couldn’t sleep at all. The Lord was telling me something. I knew UT was a better fit for me.
“It hurt to tell my DB coach at Oregon I was going to de-commit. I didn’t lie. This is a business. Those schools can find other guys because they always have a back-up plan.”
Martin is at the point now he is ready to sign the letter and be done with the process. This recruiting started four years ago when Martin was a freshman.
Martin has not been alone in the recruiting steps. Last year, he watched how former Titans teammate Corey Dauphine got hounded by teams during the recruiting trail up until National Signing Day. Dauphine remained loyal through it all and signed with Texas Tech.
“Loyalty plays into it a lot,” Martin said. “Baylor offered me in the ninth grade. I always stayed in contact with their coaching staff. I can talk to those guys on a daily basis. I can’t wait to sign that paper and send it off.”
Memorial junior defensive back Kary Vincent Jr. is now in the same boat Martin was a year ago. He is able to watch Martin and his process as his stack of offers starts to build. Vincent has offers from Baylor, Houston, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, SMU, TCU and Vanderbilt.
“I told him to enjoy the process,” Martin said. “He has to pick the school that is best for him. Next year around this time he will be doing the same thing.”
Locke went through it a year ago and had some advice for Martin and any other high school athlete struggling to make the biggest decision of their lives.
“You have to pick the school that is best for you,” Locke said. “Leave everyone else’s feelings out of it and follow your heart. If you don’t scratch that itch, it will continue to itch forever. Don’t go somewhere and then regret it later.”