California linebacker commits to CornhuskersBY JON NYATAWA
WORLD-HERALD BUREAU
LINCOLN – The Nebraska football program picked up an oral commitment from a California linebacker Sunday night, a pledge that increases the Huskers’ 2009 recruiting class to 21 known members now just two days before the national signing period begins.
Eric Martin, from Moreno Valley, Calif., becomes the latest and maybe final addition to a group of prospective Huskers who’ll have their first opportunity on Wednesday to sign letters of intent to play football at Nebraska.
Martin’s the fifth Californian to join the class, but now just the second linebacker after the Huskers and Pennsylvania linebacker Shawn Bodtmann parted ways in January. Chris Williams, a Parade All-American linebacker from Abilene, Texas, gave Nebraska an oral commitment in October.
Martin may not be as heralded as Williams, but maybe his best attribute is one that’s difficult to evaluate by statistics alone, according to his Rancho Valley High School coach, Pete Duffy.
Martin’s willing to embrace the game’s most physical elements, an on-the-field trait that helped the 6-foot-2, 220-pound player start at linebacker for three straight years under Duffy.
"He’s big, fast and strong, and he runs into people," Duffy said. "He runs around blocks when he has to, but he’s not going to shy away from contact. He plays at a high energy level all the time."
That hard-working mentality may have been one of the reasons why Martin connected with the NU staff on his recent visit to Nebraska’s campus.
He got along great with linebackers coach Mike Ekeler and both Bo and Carl Pelini, Duffy said. Plus, Martin was enamored by the Husker football team’s significance to the state and its followers.
"He liked the feel of Nebraska football, the importance of it, when he was there," Duffy said. "He talked about it, how it was obvious that it was the big (thing) in town."
Martin chose Nebraska over Arizona State and other Pac-10 suitors.
