First-year Florida Atlantic University (FAU) coach Lane Kiffin has offered a scholarship to a 13-year-old. However, this 13-year-old is Kaden Martin, the son of former NFL quarterback and college star Tee Martin. Kiffin and Martin know each other from their time at USC. In 2012-13, Martin was the wide receivers' coach when Kiffin was head coach of the team.
This is not the first time that a middle schooler has been offered a scholarship by an FBS college football team. In fact, it has happened often enough in recent years, usually involving powerhouse schools like Alabama, LSU, USC or Miami.
What do we know about Kaden Martin?
Kaden Martin is currently a seventh-grader at Adams Middle School in Redondo Beach, California. Besides being a star quarterback at his school, Martin also plays basketball and is a standout pitcher on the baseball team. Tee Martin has said that his son will not start specializing in one sport and will continue to play all of them.
His fastball has been recorded in the 80s, and he helped lead his Little League team to the California state finals in 2016. Athletic skill runs in the family, since Tee Martin's older son, Amari Rodgers, will be starting his freshman season at Clemson this fall as a wide receiver.
Who is Tee Martin?
Tee Martin spent his first two seasons at the University of Tennessee backing up Peyton Manning.
In his two seasons as a starter, Martin led Tennessee to a 22-3 record, two SEC Championships and the 1998 BCS National Championship.
He was drafted in the fifth round by the Pittsburgh Steelers. Martin only played four seasons in the NFL, appearing in three games and throwing 16 passes. He also spent the 2002 season playing in NFL Europe and played in the Canadian Football league for two seasons.
Since 2006, he has coached at various levels of football. As of 2016 he has been the offensive coordinator for USC.
Why offer a scholarship to a 13-year-old?
Some may be wondering why would Lane Kiffin and FAU, or any school for that matter, waste their time offering a scholarship to someone in middle school? Schools can revoke scholarships from players up until signing day, so the offer is verbal and not a commitment from day one.
It does, however, let the coach get their foot in the door and start building a relationship.
This would give FAU an advantage when the kid is ready to commit five years from now. It does the same for Kiffin, who would already know a possible high level recruit to bring to FAU. If he is successful at FAU and leaves, Kiffin will still have a relationship with the kid to jump ship to whatever bigger program he is then coaching.
