Damien Martinez

It was a pretty busy past few days for me with a few stops on the schedule. I dropped in on Wylie East and Lewisville on Monday, and Arlington Martin on Tuesday afternoon. Wylie East 2023 DE Anthony James (@AntJamesII) chasing down the ball@WERaiderFB @CoachJayRose @CoachMarcusGold #GigEm#DUBeast#RecruitRaiderNation#GetOnBoard pic.twitter.com/i0yoVva6Zw— Jason Howell (@Jason_Howell) May 3, 2021 Monday, I got to see Texas A&M commit 2023 commit and Wylie East DE Anthony James go through drills. He checks in at 6-5, 247 and he continues to test off the charts athletically. They were only in helmets and shoulder pads but he moved well throughout drill work and showed some nice burst and quickness. When it comes to his recruitment, he is scheduled to take a few visits this summer, but especially after his trip to College Station for the Spring game he is very strongly committed to the Aggies and continues to recruit for Texas A&M. I did get to see a few guys who already have Texas A&M offers. Let's start with Arlington Martin DE Ernest Cooper IV. The standout plans to take official visits to all five of his finalists - Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oregon, Stanford, and Texas A&M - and he was at the Texas A&M spring game. Coach Price has positioned the Aggies nicely in this one. As for practice, his athleticism and size are easy to spot, but it is also really fun watching him lead. He is a seasoned veteran now and is a coach on the field type of guy. While at Martin I also had the chance to watch 2023 CB Javien Toviano. He is a special kind of player and will be used in a variety of ways on offense, defense, and special teams. He is smart, athletic, and he can mix it up with the best of them. He had a great visit to Texas A&M for the spring game and coach Price and coach Rushing have a done a great job of building that relationship. Look for him to visit Aggieland again this summer as well as Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Baylor, Oregon, and maybe Alabama.Arlington Martin 2023 standout Javien Toviano (@Jaaee2saucy_) @Martin_Football @BobWager31 @CoachRPollard pic.twitter.com/G5KjERIlBb— Jason Howell (@Jason_Howell) May 4, 2021 At Lewisville I had a chance to check in with 2023 DE Jordan Renaud. The 6-5, 245-pound defender should not be slept on as one of the state's top defenders in 2023. He is a national prospect and a guy Texas A&M fans will want to get to know. He was out with a slight injury when I went so I did not get to see him work, but it was good to see him so involved with the d-line even though he was not getting actual reps in practice. Texas A&M was one of the first in-state programs to offer and it is clear Texas A&M and coach Terry Price have made a strong impression. I already wrote the update and if you have not read what he said about Texas A&M I strongly encourage you to read it. Texas and Bo Davis are coming on very strong too and I expect both schools to be a factor throughout his recruiting process, and I would expect him to take his time. LSU, Alabama, and Florida have all recently offered and his offer list is already getting very long. Next offer? I saw a couple of guys I could see the Aggies offering down the road. Let's start at Arlington Martin with 2023 RB Sergio Snider. The 5-10, 185-pound back has been a standout at Nolan Catholic the last two years and is now turning heads at Martin. He runs with a great combination of explosion and balance and I saw quite a bit of power in his running on Tuesday. He played S and RB at Nolan Catholic and he has shown himself to be a versatile threat out of the backfield as well. He already holds offers from the likes of Arizona State, Auburn, Baylor, Nebraska, Oregon, TCU, and Washington and he said he is looking at summer trips to Washington and Oregon. Another guy I would say to keep an eye on is Lewisville 2024 S Jaydan Hardy. At 6-foot, 175, Hardy already has a year's worth of varsity tape under his belt and is quickly establishing himself as one of the top DBs in 2024. Mississippi State and Illinois State have already offer, and he has been in communication with Texas A&M's Terry Price. His dad, Daryl Hardy, was a standout defender at Tennessee and Jaydan has some special tools.There are a few more underclassmen to watch as well. The biggest wildcard I saw this week is Wylie East 2023 ATH TJ Washington. He will likely spend a lot of time at QB but he is also a dynamic athlete who can make plays at RB, WR, or even on defense. Lewisville has several who could emerge over the next few classes. Twin 2023 DBs Cameren Jenkins and Caden Jenkins are on track to turn heads this summer. The Farmers young OL group is also very intriguing. 2023 Scotty Parker (6-1, 310) earned 1st team all-district honors in 2020, and brothers Quaveon Davis and Xavion Davis. Quaveon is a 2023 and checks in at 6-6, 330, while Xavion is 6-3, 400. At Martin 2023 CB Josiah Charles caught my attention. At 6-foot, he has the height and athleticism and he will add the weight. Do not be surprised to see his name start to pop up more on the recruiting front over the next few months.Lewisville 2023 DB Cameren Jenkins (@1Cameren) making it look easy @LHSFball @stujo04 @modle1112 #RecruitLewisville pic.twitter.com/Ha5E07ijyn— Jason Howell (@Jason_Howell) May 3, 2021 Now for my favorite part, the sleepers, and Lewisville has a great one flying way under the radar. 2022 Tahj Martin checks in at 6-3, 270 and he is a flat bellied, stout, powerful, nasty presence in the trenches. He plays both ways for the Farmers and he plays RT on offense. His only offer is from Texas Southern, but I look for that to change as college coaches get a chance to see his wingspan, athleticism, power, and build. Lewisville 2023 OL Tahj Martin (@Martin2Tahj) doing work in the trenches @LHSFball @modle1112 @stujo04 #RecruitLewisville pic.twitter.com/aZzyEcVp0k— Jason Howell (@Jason_Howell) May 3, 2021 Lewisville 2022 WR Kye Stone is another to watch. He checks in at 6-2, 180 and he plays the game with a chip on his shoulder. He is physical, fast, and he tracks the ball as well. He has made several plays on the 7-on-7 circuit and has caught my eye at more than a few events so far. Arlington Martin has 2022 WR/TE prospect Myles Hill. He visited Texas A&M with RJ Cooper this spring and he checks in at 6-4, 190 pounds. He is a big bodied guy who I could see turning into a big slot/flex TE type down the road. The guy who really caught my eye at Wylie East was 2022 CB Jason Olford. He is a solid 5-10, 165 and runs the 100 and 200 on the track. He also has some strong bloodlines. His father, Jason Olford, played at La Tech and in the NFL and is now Wylie East's track coach. I didn't mention the prospects committed elsewhere but Lewisville has WR Armani Winfield and Martin has LB Trevell Johnson. Lewisville also has running back Damien Martinez who is committed to Oregon State. I'm not going to lie I think the Beavers got a steal in Martinez. As for the Horns, Winfield did not practice on Monday but has been pretty impressive when I have seen him. It looks like he's rebounded well from a down junior season, and while Johnson is a bit light in the seat he is very active in that Martin defense.

Around the state of Texas, decisions are being made, visits are being taken, and offers are being extended as recruiting never stops in this great state. It is time to take a look at the latest happenings on the Lone Star state recruiting front.