Virginia athlete Martin Lucas commits to Arizona State

Martin Lucas’ parents had to hold their son back. This was a big decision, they reminded him. Things are fluid. His options were sure to revolve, and he should jump at the first power-five offer that falls in his lap. Just because the prettiest girl in school wants to go to prom with you doesn’t mean it’s the best option.

And so, Lucas waited. He held off his commitment and let the recruiting process -- an especially bizarre one considering it coincided with a global pandemic -- run its course. A month and a half passed after Arizona State became Lucas’ first power-five offer and Lucas still felt confident with the Sun Devils. He stuck with the prettiest girl.

“I waited it out, and I still want to go,” he said.

On Friday, the three-star athlete from Abingdon, Virginia, became the Sun Devils’ tenth commit in the 2021 class.

On July 9, Lucas tweeted that he would make his decision the following Friday, adding a picture of the six schools still in the mix. Co-defensive coordinator Antonio Pierce -- Lucas’ primary recruiter along with graduate assistant Adam Breneman -- sent a text to the 6-foot-4, 250-pound athlete. “What’s it gonna be?” Pierce said. Lucas informed him he was headed to Tempe.

“They showed me so much interest,” Lucas’ said of ASU’s coaching staff. “I want to go where I’m wanted.”

Recruits want to feel loved. To feel like they’re a priority. The Sun Devils did that for Lucas. They also showed Lucas a road map that other schools couldn’t provide. With the NFL experience on ASU’s coaching staff, Lucas felt like they gave him the best chance to advance to the next level.

And throughout ASU’s 3,000-mile pursuit of Lucas, it kept its boundaries.

“They showed me a lot of love, but it wasn’t like annoying. Some colleges just wanted to call me every day and all that. (The Sun Devils) weren’t like that. They would just hit me up every now and then to see how I was doing,” Lucas said. “They were cool with me. They didn’t just talk to me about football either.”

There, of course, were football conversations. And most revolved around Lucas’ position for the future. The 6-foot-4, 250-pound Lucas played both running back and linebacker at Abingdon High, surprisingly noting that he didn’t favor one over the other. Regardless, Pierce told the high-schooler ASU would let Lucas’ body decide what position he’ll play in college.

“I thought that was awesome that he said that,” Lucas said. “That’s pretty cool they’re giving me that opportunity. Most people want me on the defensive side of the ball because they see my size, but they’re giving a chance to run the ball.”

Considering Pierce, who also acts as ASU’s linebackers coach along with the fact that most newcomers don’t lose weight on a collegiate strength and conditioning plan, it seems like a safe bet to expect Lucas to be in the defensive meeting rooms early into his college tenure. Pierce has already told Lucas that he could be a force in ASU’s new four-down scheme, which affords its linebackers more freedom to use their speed and athleticism.

For Abingdon, though, whether it was in its spread offense or 3-4 base defense, Lucas was a menace.

“He really carried us through some games, especially in the second half of the season. The tougher it got, we wanted to make sure he had the football in his hands,” Abingdon head coach Garrett Amburgey said. “He did a great job carrying the football for us, but he’s very capable at linebacker … He can do both.

“He’s a team-first guy and great worker in the weight room. He’s got a great presence about him, a big smile on his face every day.”

“Martin Lucas runs like a runaway train,” recruiting analyst Cody Cameron described in his evaluation of the Sun Devils’ newest addition. “When you watch his film, I’m not sure if there are too many high school football players in the state of Virginia that actually want to tackle this young man. Lucas does a great job of keeping his legs moving through contact, as he’s continually bulldozing over would-be tacklers to pick up big chunks of yards.

“The plays between the 1:37 mark and 1:53 mark highlight his style of running perfectly. He keeps his shoulders square, 1-2 cuts max as he gets North, and trucks through defensive backs for a pair of touchdowns. Lucas gets after it on the defensive side of the ball as well. Listed at 6’2 250, this is a player who moves exceptionally well for his size. He forces well from his outside linebacker/defensive end hybrid position, and he drops the hammer when he comes up to make a hit. Time will tell, but I can definitely see Lucas making an impact as a defensive player at the next level as well.”

Even for a guy like Lucas who did his due diligence and researched the 21 programs that offered him, Amburgey admitted it’s been tough to advise his players in recruiting this year. The coronavirus, he noted, has presented “unique” challenges in recruiting. Chief among them is a shut down on all official visits. And with no visits, recruits like Lucas have committed to schools they’ve never visited -- a rare occurrence in any other year.

Sure, Lucas went on virtual tours. He saw more edited videos of facilities and campuses than he can count, ASU’s ‘Palm Walk’ sticking out (Lucas said he has yet to see a palm tree in person). But he’s still traveling across the country to a foreign place, basically signing a contract to stay there for four years. All based on pictures and videos.

“We don’t even know if we’re going to have a football season,” Lucas said. “I want to make sure I have a spot. I don’t want to wait too long.”

It seems tough to rationalize and, yet, it’s become the norm for recruits, forcing a situation where their relationships with coaches grow in importance.

“I’m comfortable with the coaching staff. I feel like once I get there, I’ll be comfortable with everything,” Lucas said, admitting he’s never visited the West Coast. “I live by a bunch of farms and out there it’s like desert and stuff. It’s going to be different, and I like that. I like that it’s going to be different.”

While the landscape will be contrasting to Lucas, he and those around him seem confident that as Lucas advances to the next level of football, his talent will follow along with the same upswing.

“He’s definitely got that frame and carries his weight well,” Amburgey said. “I think he’ll excel at the next level.”

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