Four-star defensive end Chris Martin picks KU

By Matt Tait     Dec 15, 2012

Kansas University’s football team picked up its second commitment from a four-star prospect when City College of San Francisco defensive end Chris Martin on Saturday told KU coach Charlie Weis he would be a Jayhawk.

Martin, in town for an official visit with a host of other 2013 players, picked the Jayhawks over offers from Houston, Nebraska, San Diego State and Washington State.

Martin actually held a five-star rating coming out of Grandview High in Aurora, Colo., in 2010. He joins juco defensive tackle Marquel Combs as the other four-star player in KU’s current class and becomes the 16th junior-college standout to pick Kansas and the 10th commitment of the week.

Many of those players made their intentions known this week.

Martin, a 6-foot-5, 260-pound Denver native who played at Florida in 2011, has been clocked under 4.7 seconds in the 40-yard dash and recorded 61 tackles and 4.5 sacks at CCSF this season. Not surprisingly, his familiarity with Weis played a big role in his decision.

“I’ve always looked at him as a mentor,” Martin said of Weis to JayhawkSlant.com’s Jon Kirby. “He’s a straight shooter and he wouldn’t steer me wrong. He’s been genuine and we have talked several times about what I have been through. He’s told me his plans for KU and I think I can come in and be successful.”

Martin also has a lot of respect for KU strength coach Scott Holsopple.

“I spent my whole year at Florida with Scott Holsopple,” Martin told Rob Cassidy of Rivals.com. “I know what my body is going to look like under Coach Holsopple. And that’s not anything bad.”

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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.