Iowa City West's Oliver Martin gets Hawkeye football offer

IOWA CITY — Iowa City West multisport athlete Oliver Martin has been offered a scholarship to play football at the University of Iowa, his father confirmed Thursday.

Martin now has offers from five Big Ten programs — Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan State and Indiana are the others — and several other smaller programs, including Northern Iowa. The Iowa offer was first reported by Hawkeye Nation.

'I think if I got an offer from Iowa, they would hold an edge just because I'm from here over other schools,' Martin told The Gazette in January for a feature on his swimming success. 'If I got an offer from them, it'd be pretty tough for another school to beat.'

He caught 73 passes for 1,187 yards and 14 touchdowns as a junior last fall.

Martin, who also has baseball offers from Iowa and Illinois, is hitting a team-best .493 with two homers and 12 RBIs for a West squad currently ranked No. 2 in Class 4A.

'Football, baseball I'd say are pretty even,' he said in January. 'I like them both a whole lot and I'd be totally fine doing either one in college.'