2014 Miami Football Recruiting: WR Commit Sam Martin Switches To Rutgers (UPDATED)

As site godfather Bryan Vance reported on January 22, 3-star wideout Sam Martin of Boulder, Colorado verbally committed to the Miami RedHawks. Unfortunately, it appears that commitment was short-lived. According to NJ.com's Todderick Hunt, Martin has switched his pledge to Rutgers, and he expects to join the Scarlet Knights this fall.

Even though he had committed to Miami, Martin was nonetheless scheduled to take an official visit to New Brunswick this weekend. He had to cancel for personal reasons, but nonetheless made the change. Martin had previously worked with Rutgers' coaching staff at summer camps. But the real motivating factor appears to be the hiring of Ralph Friedgen as offensive coordinator. The former Maryland head coach was just announced as the new Rutgers OC yesterday, and Martin remarked that he's "excited" to work with Friedgen.

Martin originally committed to Miami after being spurned by his hometown Colorado Buffaloes despite rewriting the state's record book for wide receivers, catching 112 passes for 1,860 yards and 16 touchdowns in 2014. With Martin out of the picture, Miami is down to two wideout commits for 2014, Kelvin Cook of Colerain High School in Cincinnati and Matt Merimee of Benedictine High School in Sttrongsville (who may project as a strong safety instead).

UPDATE:

Well, this is certainly unexpected. Just days after switching his verbal to Rutgers, Sam Martin is apparently flipping back to Miami, according to Adam Dietrich of RedHawk Insider:

Former Miami commit WR Sam Martin (Boulder, CO) is now a former Rutgers commit. He has switched back to MU. Will sign this week.

— Adam Dietrich (@RedHawkInsider) February 3, 2014

Welcome back aboard, Sam.