The 60-question survey Montana head coach Bob Stitt uses to identify players who are worthy of scholarship offers has gained a reputation since Stitt took over the Grizzlies football program.
The set of questions is geared more toward identifying personality characteristics than it is football ability. It takes about an hour to complete and for Skyler Martin, it was a little overwhelming.
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“That was probably one of the hardest things I’ve done,” said Martin, a 6-foot-5, 230-pound tight end/defensive end from Vancouver, Washington. “I think it was 60 questions and he just kept firing them at me and I just answered them the best I could.”
Consider it a job well done, Skyler.
One day after completing the questionnaire, Stitt called back and offered Martin. Three days after that Martin became the 11th commit of the Grizzlies’ 2017 class, giving his pledge to Montana on Sunday afternoon.
“It was tough, but I can see why they’re so successful after that,” Martin said about his conversation with Stitt.
Martin, a product of Skyview High, is the third out-of-state commit in the class and the second to join in the last five days. The Grizzlies received a verbal commit from Carder Key, a linebacker from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, on Tuesday evening. Montana also secured a commitment from RJ Nelson, a defensive end from Oregon, back in September. The other eight commits are from Montana.
Montana coaches are prohibited by NCAA regulations from commenting on recruits until after they sign their National Letters of Intent on signing day the first day of February.
“I loved the coaching staff. I’ve built a really, really good relationship with them.” said Martin, who was primarily recruited by Montana linebackers coach and special teams coordinator Travis Niekamp. “I just feel like I’ll be able to call them family and that was really important to me because that is how it is at my high school. And if I’m going to be eight hours away from home, I’ll want to be comfortable and feel like I’m at home. That’s what it really came down to.”
Martin could have decided to play his football a lot further than eight hours from the southwestern Washington town he hails from. Martin is the son of a former U.S. Marine and holds a 3.93 grade-point average. He held offers from Brown, Cornell and Columbia of the Ivy League, and another from the University of Chicago. Once Montana extended an offer, the prestige of those academic institutions couldn’t measure up to playing football in Washington-Grizzly Stadium.
Martin had long known of the Grizzlies’ on-field success. He started receiving invitations to camps as a sophomore and he recalls hearing about the success former Ellis Henderson, a Skyview alum, had during his time as an explosive receiver at UM.
“I was really excited,” said Martin, who will take his official visit the weekend Montana hosts Idaho State or Montana State in November. “I know the reputation they have not only in the Big Sky, but in the nation for attendance and national championships and playoff appearances.”
An All-Greater St. Helens league selection at defensive end and tight end last season, Martin will have to adapt to a new position when he arrives in Missoula next fall. Since adopting the zone blocking schemes of Stitt’s offense, Montana has tried to identify big, athletic offensive lineman and the staff felt that Martin was ideally suited for life in the trenches.
“Coach Niekamp called and told me that’s the direction they’re heading with my recruiting if I was open to it and obviously I said I’m totally open to it just because it’s Montana,” Martin said.
He was advised by his high school coach, Steve Kizer, to accept the move to the new position. Kizer, who coached Martin’s dad, Eddie, at Walla Walla College, told the younger Martin that “they’ll turn you into an O-lineman, you’ll be an All-American O-lineman.”
Martin said it’s not clear whether he will play tackle or guard. But wherever it is, his first practice with Montana offensive line coach Chad Germer won’t be the first interaction the two have had. Martin came to Missoula during summer for one of Montana’s individual camps. Though he spent much of that time being worked out at defensive end, the offensive and defensive lines were grouped together and Martin talked extensively with Germer.
“Once they offered me it just came down to whether I wanted to continue with the Ivy League route or go to Montana,” said Martin, who placed Montana near the top of his recruiting list very early on in the process. “It was a pretty easy decision after going over the pros and cons with my parents.”
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Photos courtesy of Skyler Martin. All rights reserved.
