Florida Atlantic, Lane Kiffin offer scholarship to 7th grade QB
Lane Kiffin certainly knows how to get his name out there, doesn’t he?
Way back in 2010, when he was the head coach at USC, Kiffin made headlines when he offered — and received a commitment from — David Sills, a then-seventh grade quarterback from Bear, Delaware. Kiffin, now at Florida Atlantic, was back to his old tricks Monday when he offered a scholarship to another middle-schooler.
This time, Kiffin has reportedly offered another seventh-grade quarterback, 13-year-old Kaden Martin, the son of USC offensive coordinator Tee Martin.
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According to Fox Sports’ Bruce Feldman, the younger Martin, who attends Adams Middle School in Redondo Beach, California, is already 5-foot-11 and 175 pounds. The offer from Kiffin and Florida Atlantic is his first in football. Martin, per Feldman, is also a talented baseball player with a fastball “clocked in the 80s.”
Martin is clearly a promising athlete, but a lot can change between now and the time he can actually sign a national letter of intent (he’s in the class of 2022!). Take Sills for example. He maintained his commitment to USC until 2014, even after Kiffin was fired. Sills, who ended up being rated as a four-star prospect by Rivals.com, eventually backed off his commitment and signed with West Virginia in the class of 2015.
He signed with WVU as a quarterback but was moved to receiver and had seven catches for 131 yards and two touchdowns as a freshman. With the hopes of playing quarterback, Sills spent a year at a junior college in 2016 but is now back with the Mountaineers as a receiver. He showed a nice rapport with new WVU QB Will Grier during the spring game and is expected to be among the team’s top receiving group.
Martin’s journey will likely be followed in a similar fashion.
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Sam Cooper is a writer for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
