Cal Football: 2022 Commit Justyn Martin Earns Praise After Showing at The QB Retreat
The Cal football team, with only two commitments so far to the class of 2022, is unsurprisingly not listed among the fist SI All-American top-25 recruiting classes.
That list was released today and many of the usual suspects occupy the top spots. No. 1 is Ohio State, followed by LSU, Georgia and Notre Dame. Here’s the full SI All-American report on its inaugural recruiting rankings.
Oregon, which already has eight verbal commitments, is the top-rated Pac-12 team at No. 16. USC, at No. 24, is the conference’s only other representative.
Alabama is modestly positioned at No. 21, but we all know that won’t be where the Crimson Tide finishes. Same with Clemson, which is No. 23.
Obviously, it’s very early. In-person recruiting resumes today after a long hiatus due to COVID-19, and things are sure to ramp up now.
Coach Justin Wilcox told us the Bears intend to have 27 recruiting visit campus this month, and one of those figures to be rising junior quarterback Justyn Martin, a four-star prospect from Inglewood High, who committed to Cal in January.
Martin, who threw eight touchdown passes in a 70-14 win over Muir High last month. attended The QB Retreat in Los Angeles last weekend, an event sponsored by adidas and run by one-time San Jose State star and quarterback guru Steve Clarkson.
While eating breakfast over the weekend, Martin told CBS Sports, he received a call from Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh with a scholarship offer.
Martin sounded impressed and appreciative and said that he might make a campus visit to Ann Arbor. He also said Ole Miss continues to recruit him hard.
He had this to say when asked about his commitment to Cal:
“Right now it’s my No. 1 school. I love the offensive coordinator (Bill Musgrave), I love the fit for me, I love the quarterback room, I love the opportunity for me. So Cal’s still my No. 1 school.
“The last year-and-a-half recruiting’s been completely dead. I’m just trying to fulfill my recruitment. But Cal’s still No. 1 for me.”
Current college quarterbacks, including Cal’s Chase Garbers, served as camp counselors at the QB Retreat. Others involved were Arizona State’s Jayden Daniels, USC’s Kedon Slovis, UCLA’s Dorian Thompson-Robinson and Matt Corral of Ole Miss.
Greg Biggins of 247Sports wrote about the two-day camp and cited Ohio State commit Quinn Evers of Carroll High in Southlake, Texas, as the “alpha dog” among the attendees.
“Ewers was the guy everyone was talking about all weekend including the college quarterbacks,” Biggins wrote. “The ball just comes out of his hand differently and no one threw a tighter ball with more velocity than Ewers.”
But Biggins also had high praise for Martin.
“This was the best we've ever seen Martin throw and he was arguably among the top 3-4 quarterbacks for the weekend,” Biggins wrote. “There has never been a question about Martin's potential and his ceiling is very high. He looks good mechanically and has tightened his release. He has a smooth, easy delivery and the ball jumps out of his hand.
“He's a plus athlete who made a lot of nice off-platform throws and if he can continue to improve in his ability to process the game and play with poise under duress, the sky's the limit.”
Recruiting expert Tom Lemmings recently called Martin “no doubt one of the top QB prospects nationally. Very impressed with his size, arm strength and overall athletic ability. Great vision and leadership skills. 4.0 GPA. This young man has all the tools. 4*+ talent.”
Martin cannot sign a binding letter-of-intent until next Feb. 2.
Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo
