Nebraska got a chance to host coveted linebacker Tyler Martin this weekend.
The four-star linebacker from Cambridge (Mass.) Buckingham Brown & Nichols was in Lincoln in April to take a look around. This weekend he finally got to see behind the closed doors and meet the people from the football program.
“We got to Lincoln around noon on Friday,” Martin said. “We did a lot of walking around, meeting the support staff like the Life Skills, nutrition staff, the strength and conditioning and sports science folks that are all behind the scenes. It was great.”
Martin's host played football for a prep school who Martin faced a year ago in a championship game.
“My host was Casey Rogers," Martin said. "He’s a northeast guy. He was awesome. We went bowling. He went to prep school in Connecticut and it’s funny the year after he left we played them and beat them 21-0 in the New England Championship.”
Besides his host, Martin said that he hung out with a number of the other recruits, one of Nebraska's starting defensive linemen and then a walk-on linebacker.
“I spent a lot of time with Hayden Schwartz, Ashton Hayes, Avery Powell and then I spent a lot of time with Ty Robinson on Friday and then Grant Tagge on Saturday night," Martin said. "Got to hang out with a bunch of the other freshmen.”
Martin said that all of the recruits on Saturday had a meeting with the strength and conditioning staff. He also had a one-on-one meeting with the defensive coordinator where they had a chance to talk about what it takes to play at Nebraska and the defensive culture.
“We went had a long strength meeting with coach Duvall. We heard about how they do things and how going forward how things were going to be done. I also got a tour of the Business School which was awesome. That may have been some of the best stuff I saw.
“I also had a meeting with coach Chinander," Martin said. "We talked more about the defensive culture, the Blackshirts, and what it takes to play defense at Nebraska. It was a great conversation. It’s stuff I love to talk about. He was awesome to talk to. We did a photoshoot as well.”
Martin also had a chance to check out all of the facilities as well as see the plans for the new facilities that will be completed in 2023.
“A bunch of the facility touring was on Saturday. They had workouts and camps on Friday and camps today. They showed us a really nice video of the new facilities. It was incredible. Their facilities now are state of the art.”
The visit technically stretched to Sunday but today was mainly about meeting with the position coach and watching film.
“Sunday was a pretty easy day but a very good day,” Martin said. “I had a long meeting with coach Dawson. We got into the film and that’s part of the game that I love. That’s the only way to become the best player possible to watch their film. He’s an incredible person and coach. It was a great meeting.”
One of the topics in the meeting was inside or outside linebacker. It sounds more and more like Martin will be one over the other.
“We talked a lot about that," he said. "Sounds like going forward I am more of an outside guy for them like a Garrett Nelson. We talked a lot about that over the last couple of days. Not a bad comparison since he’s a starting outside linebacker for Nebraska.”
Martin was rushed to get to the airport and before the interview, he said that the visit was incredible and gave the visit a perfect score of "10". He said one of the biggest reasons for the perfect score was the people at Nebraska.
“The biggest thing for me was when I was there in April I really liked the campus. This trip I really wanted to get a sense of the facilities and learn about the people that I would be surrounded by and I think that question was answered 100 times over.
“Whether it’s coach Frost at the top, the support staffs in the middle and all the way down to the visit hosts that know everything and can answer all of your questions. It just had a family feel. I think that was the most incredible part. They were great coaches and great people.”
There is another official visit set for Martin next weekend to Arizona.
After that, he says that there could be a couple of road trips and potential one-day unofficial visits.
“On Friday I am flying out to Arizona," Martin siad. "After that, I will be taking a few other visits. I don’t think that they will be official visits. They should be really quick, one-day unofficial trips. I don’t think that I will be taking any official visits after the trip to Arizona.”