Oliver Martin 'felt like I fit in' at Michigan

IOWA CITY — The recruiting trail ended up in the pool for Iowa City West senior Oliver Martin.

No, not as a Division I swimmer, though that probably could've been an option if he wanted it. Martin, after making his commitment to the University of Michigan, ended up jumping into a swimming pool with Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh and assistant Pep Hamilton.

It was a 'spur of the moment' thing that left all three without a change of clothes, but it was worth it. An at-times-stressful process came to an official end Wednesday as Martin signed with Michigan after announcing on Twitter Monday.

'It's somewhat of a relief. I'm just glad I've made a decision,' Martin said Wednesday after the National Signing Day event at Iowa City West High School. 'There's too many factors to just point out one. I felt like it was ultimately the best fit for me as a player, academically, socially, all those things.

'I think the thing that kind of pushed me over the edge was hearing it from my parents that they thought it was a great place for me. I agreed with them and that's when it happened.'

Martin's recruitment process went from 0 to 100 mph over the course of the last 18 or so months, and topped out in the last month with a myriad Power 5 conference teams throwing their hats in the ring to try to land the 6-foot-1 wide receiver.

He had offers from Michigan State, Notre Dame, Auburn, BYU, Florida, Illinois, Minnesota, Ohio State, Oregon and Wisconsin, among others.

There also was his hometown school, of course, in Iowa. The Hawkeyes made as strong of a push to land Martin as anyone, but he landed at Michigan thanks to his aforementioned checklist. Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz said at his NSD news conference it's hard to gauge what a recruit truly is thinking, but felt like Martin gave Iowa a fair shot throughout the whole process.

'I've read we were right there till the end and I think we were, we were legitimately right there. It would be wonderful if we got every guy we wanted to get. We don't,' Ferentz said. 'Certainly I think we worked as hard as we possibly could to recruit him and there are no regrets there.

'He's earned the right to make the decision that's best for him.'

Martin confirmed Ferentz's notion when asked about Iowa's chances.

It's hard to say no to the school right down the road — the one that had been in there before many other schools were. Some on social media weren't completely kind to Martin after his commitment was announced, either, hoping he would stick around Iowa City.

But as Ferentz said, Martin earned the right to choose, and he said he made the one that was best for him.

'They were one of my top schools for the whole process. I've known they're a great school for a long time; they recruited me for a while. I like their program, I like the coaches there; I was comfortable with the players. So they were there. It just came down to Michigan,' Martin said of Iowa. '(Social media wasn't bad) at first, not a lot — not really until the day I committed. There were just a few people who like to get in their two cents. You try not to listen to it. It didn't have too much of an effect on me.

'It's hard to say no to a lot of schools, especially Iowa, though, because I felt like I had great relationships with their coaches.'

It just came down to Michigan. Jim Harbaugh has that effect — and it's showed since he went back to his alma mater.

List: Local athletes who signed NLIs Wednesday

Things like jumping in the pool can make recruits feel at ease. That certainly was the case for Martin, who said he feels like he found a second home.

'From the first time I met him, I always thought he was a genuine, real kind of dude,' Martin said. 'I really liked talking to him, I felt comfortable with him. I felt like I fit in.'

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