One week from now the coveted Western PA prospect will sign with the Nittany Lions…but figuring out his ‘forever home’ between the white lines remains up in the air.
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Quinton Martin — the Commonwealth’s top-rated prep prospect in the 2023-24 recruiting cycle — spurned (among others) Ohio State and Michigan when he verbally committed to Penn State way back in April. Beyond the obvious benefit of landing a promising four-star athlete, Martin’s pledge to the Nittany Lions marked another notch in James Franklin’s “Dominate The State” bedpost as Pennsylvania’s top-ranked high school football talent picked the blue and white for the third year in a row.
Sidenote: Pitt (a quick 40-minute drive from Martin’s high school) was one of the “among others” not worth mentioning, by the way.
As a junior at Belle Vernon High School, Martin was a do-it-all, Groundskeeper-Willie-One-Man-Band for the (googles Belle Vernon’s team name) Leopards, responsible for 31 of his team’s 70 total TDs (22 rushing, 6 receiving, 2 punt return, 1 INT return). The 6-foot-2, 205-pound Swiss Army knife showed off his versatility in last year’s WPIAL finals at Acrisure Stadium, treating the yinzers to a sampler platter of scores (receiving, rushing, punt return). This past Saturday, he led Belle Vernon to its second consecutive state title with 157 yards on just 13 touches.
