Martin could be close to offers

Marcus Martin used to be teammates with Brian Price at Los Angeles Crenshaw and after seeing Price get drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this past weekend, Martin is even more excited for his prospects and future in football.

"He was a former teammate of mine so I was always around him," Martin said at Sunday's Los Angeles Nike Camp. "It was a good experience. I got to go to his signing party. It was really cool. He was really excited and I was excited for him as well. I want him to go out to Florida and do big things."

Martin, a 6-foot-3, 357-pound offensive lineman, also got some advice from Price, a former four-star recruit who played at UCLA. It was to always work hard, work more than your competition and always keep your ultimate goal in mind. It's something that has kept Martin motivated.

"One thing he always told me was to just work hard, work hard, work hard," Martin said. "You always have to be a step ahead of your competition. You can't let them beat you.

"Your mind has to be straight and narrow, don't let anything detour you from what your goal is. If that's the NFL, keep working hard to get there even if you have to go through a Division II, a junior college. He told me to keep pushing."

It's likely Martin won't have to play anywhere but at a major Division I school since he said Arizona, Southern Cal, Florida, Oregon, Cal, Nebraska and Michigan are the main programs recruiting him although no offers have come in yet. That could happen at any time especially since Martin was one of the top offensive linemen at the Nike Camp.

"I've been on the phone with a lot of coaches and my offers they said are right around the corner," Martin said. "They're going to come out in May to watch me work out and I just came out to the camp to give them a little film and have a little fun.

"I didn't have a lot of opportunities last year to meet too many coaches, I didn't go too many places, I didn't go to too many camps but they told me to go to these camps and they wanted to watch a little film on me and now it's only a matter of time."

Martin was unmovable at Sunday's camp, twice blocking USC commit Antwaun Woods and not letting him move. Woods is considered one of the top defensive tackles in the West so Martin has proven that he can play at the highest level. Now he's just waiting for the offers to come in.

"It's exciting to know that everything I worked hard for is two steps away from me," Martin said. "It's right there in my grasp. All I have to do is reach out and grab it."