Blue chip DB Cole Martin, keeping all his options open, enjoys trip to CU
Four-star Class of 2023 cornerback Cole Martin was one of the Buffaloes' unofficial visitors on hand last weekend to watch Colorado pull of a 37-34 double overtime win against Oregon State.
Martin, the son of Buffs cornerbacks coach Demetrice Martin, is ranked as the No. 13 cornerback in the nation for his class and has 30 scholarship offers to date.
Martin, who played his first two years of high school football at Hamilton before transferring to Basha in Chandler, Ariz., was offered originally by the Buffs in May of last year.
At the time, his offer sheet was already robust and since then, the trend has continued, as the Rivals150 (No. 92) defensive back has a plethora of scholarship options in front of him from a collage of Power Five institutions.
While on paper, Colorado certainly seems to have some advantage with Martin's dad being a position coach on Karl Dorrell's staff, the 5-foot-10, 175-pound prospect hasn't been pressured by his dad to give consideration to the Buffs.
“With him being on a staff and with him trying to get me over there, it's been a blessing," Martin said. "But he’s done a great job as a father, making sure that I make the best decision for myself. He’s not making me go anywhere or anything like that."
"I would love to play for him, and that’s one of my priorities right now, but it’s not a decision that’s set in stone or that he’s making me do or anything like that.”
Upon arriving in Boulder, Martin was met with a familiar face in former Grand Canyon State preps star Brenden Rice, who's continued to emerge as a major playmaker for the Buffaloes in his second year at CU.
Rice and Martin were briefly teammates at Hamilton High School and upon reuniting, Rice helped gave him a look around campus and CU's facilities.
"I had Brenden Rice be one of my hosts," Martin said. "I played with him in high school a couple years ago, so it was fun to have him show me around...it’s real cool to have him up there."
"Now being at Basha, (Rice) still is a good figure to me and reaches out to me all the time. It was cool to chop it up with him again and watch him play — he did his thing at Oregon State, too, so it was good to watch.”
In total, Martin was in Colorado for nearly two days, during which time he tried to soak everything in and get the lay of the land.
“I was there Saturday morning and then I left Sunday night," he said. "I was going around Boulder checking out the food spots. I ate at the Buff and went around trying to see the environment. I went out to Denver for a little bit and walked around town, so it was cool just to be out there in Colorado. I tried to take it all in.”
While Demetrice Martin has obviously been a primary point of contact for the Buffaloes, so has tailbacks coach Darian Hagan as well as recruiting assistant D.J. Bryant, allowing for Martin to get a good feel for Colorado's staff as a whole.
"They’ve been showing love for awhile," Martin said. "They’ve been showing that they really want me and some of the other guys to come up to Colorado. It’s been really good — it’s been a blessing of an experience...they show a lot of love over there.”
Martin as of right now is looking to take more unofficial visits to Oregon, UCLA, Southern Cal and some other Pac-12 programs before the end of his junior season, with eyes on hitting official visits hard by the time he approaches his senior year.
Looking down the barrel, he doesn't have plans of releasing any top schools lists or identifying preferred destinations and programs.
“I’ve been just taking it in and recognizing it as blessings — just taking it in and enjoying it," Martin said. "I’m not looking to rush a decision or looking to shorten anything. I’m trying to keep my list open, talk to coaches, meet new people and really just get to know people and build bonds, which is really huge to me. That’s the main thing that’s on my mind now.”