Martinez shines in Utah

Murray (Utah) Cottonwood offensive lineman John Martinez was easily among the top two or three overall prospects in attendance at the recent NIKE Camp in Utah. The lineman has three schools at the top of his list but doesn't sound close to being ready to pulling the trigger.

Martinez , 6-2, 264 pounds is one of the premier guard prospects in the nation. He's a slam dunk top 100 player nationally and has his choice of any school in the country.

At the NIKE Camp at BYU, Martinez was the most athletic lineman in the camp and drew raves from lead OL coach Pete Brock.

"He's a great athlete and dynamically explosive," Brock said. "He has tremendous feet, is very powerful and is fast. He's a more advanced run blocker right now and struggled at times in pass protection but with his athleticism, he'll be able to clean that up with no problem in college."

We had a chance to see Martinez the day before the NIKE camp at a NIKE Combine (testing only event) in Salt Lake City and he impressed there as well. The lineman clocked a 5.20-40 (SPARQ time), 4.66 shuttle and threw the power ball over 41' and his 81.06 SPARQ Rating is one of the best we've seen for a lineman.

On the recruiting front, Martinez can write his own ticket but has three schools at the top of his list.

"USC, LSU and UCLA are my top three right now," Martinez said. "I still want to take my trips though. I'm going to visit Ohio State next week for their camp and will also camp with USC at the end of the month.

"I plan to take my visits and make sure the school I pick is the best one for me. There's no rush so I'm still open to other schools but I do like those three a lot right now."