DE Martin takes a surprise official

A couple weeks ago, Upper Marlboro (Md.) Gwynn Park defensive end Jeremiah Martin was planning to take two more official visits to Cincinnati and Michigan State. The 6-foot-1, 220-pounder cancelled both trips and instead took one in their place over this past weekend. Where did Martin go?

"I went out to Houston," he said. "It was real nice. I love it down there. I actually wasn't looking at them, but the coach knows my parents personally and got a hold of my tape. Then I set a visit and ended up going down there.

"Basically I got to spend a lot of time with the players and interact with them. My host was Stephen James. He showed me some good hospitality. The thing all the players talked about was how the coaches are like parents away from home. They'll talk to you about life and things in general. You can sit down with them and hold a conversation."

Although the two-star prospect spent most of his time with the players, he did talk with the coaches too.

"On the final day I got to talk to the coaches," he stated. "I talked with Art Briles. He wanted to know if I'd commit or not, how I felt about the campus and people on the team."

Overall Martin rated his trip to Houston a perfect 10. Did he commit?

"I loved the players up there, but I didn't commit," he said. "I've got to sit down with my parents and then I'll be ready to make a decision on Signing Day. I'd say I'm favoring Houston, but I'm looking at Akron and Cincinnati too."