SI All-American Places UCF Cornerback Commitment Nikai Martinez on its Nickel Rankings
As the brand of Sports Illustrated and Fan Nation sites continues to grow, there will be definitive positional recruiting rankings and watch lists. Nothing could be more specific than SI All-American unveiling their nickel rankings, which includes UCF cornerback commitment Nikai Martinez.
A versatile and heady defender, Martinez debuted at No. 8 within the SI All-American nickel rankings. It’s a fitting and telling distinction for the Florida prep prospect, as he’s the glue that holds together the Apopka defense.
Within SI All-American’s description of Martinez, a particular sentence helped to display the 5’11”, 175-pound defender's overall skills.
"To the naked eye he is just a football player who happens to play in the secondary, seemingly affecting as many plays on defense as a player closer to the line of scrimmage would. Martinez is a magnet to the football, causing six turnovers and getting his hands on another eight passes in 2020 while rarely being thrown at in man coverage."
The superlatives come directly from SI All-American publisher John Garcia, who watched Martinez play live this spring and knows the Apopka High School Football program well. Being a part of the SI All-American list also represents a significant representation for the UCF Football program.
The Knights are moving up the recruiting rankings, and they are doing so by going after the top prospects and competing with college football’s elite programs. Martinez earned offers from programs across the country and he decided to stay home and play for his home school. It’s something to think about as UCF battles for future recruits.
Nikai Martinez, Apopka (Fla.) High School
Brian Smith, Inside The Knights
Based on the effort and personality of the UCF coaches and administrative staff, look for local commitments like Martinez to become more of a standard than an anomaly. As for additional information about the Apopka cornerback, Inside The Knights holds a very similar appeal for what Martinez brings to the table.
Over the course of the past couple of seasons, Martinez consistently matured as a player. He earned the respect of not only recruiting analysts such as Garcia, but his Apopka teammates viewed Martinez as a leader and continue to do so. Apopka being one of Florida’s top overall programs that competes for state championships and produces multiple college prospects every season, how his teammates feel about Martinez is telling about the character of Martinez.
As for his playing abilities, there’s no question that Martinez deserves to be considered one of the most versatile cornerback recruits for the class of 2022. That would also be why Inside The Knights’ film review of Martinez broke down his extensive and versatile playing style to provide an idea of how Martinez can and likely will be used in different manners once he enrolls with UCF.
Because of his versatility, look for this cornerback to make an early impact in a Knights’ uniform. Martinez proved to be capable, both mentally and physically, to handle the schemes and physical nature of big-time college football. SI All-American and Inside The Knights agreed that Martinez deserves accolades for his play, and the UCF Football program will be the beneficiaries of his talents once he reaches college.
You will find me on Twitter @fbscout_florida and @UCF_FanNation
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