Michigan Football: Iowa, not Michigan, is perfect for Oliver Martin

Michigan football lost a very talented wide receiver in Oliver Martin and yet he would make the perfect addition to Iowa, here’s why.

The 2019 Michigan football team is filled with some of the highest ranked recruits in the country and there’s no doubting that. The incredible recruiting efforts have led to arguably the best wide receiver core in the county, a major reason for the recent departure of Oliver Martin.

When Donovan Peoples-Jones or Tarik Black get injured, or Nico Collins needs a break, the Wolverines turned to Oliver Martin but Martin is not a second string talent. Coming out of High School in 2017, he was the No.1 ranked football player in the state of Iowa, the state in which the Hawkeyes reside and would be glad to have him.

Here’s a breakdown of the Iowa starting receivers – per the spring depth chart –  according to their 247Sports ranking:

Ihmir Smith-Marsette

Composite: 8208

WR Rank: N/A ranked as a CB 165

NJ: 34

Nico Ragini

Composite: 8389

WR Rank: 200

CT: 6

Oliver’s numbers blow these guys out of the water:

Composite: 9251

WR rank: 29

And as I said before, he was also the No. 1 football player from the state of Iowa. The problem comes when you look at the Michigan football WR class of 2017, the one which included Oliver.

Donovan Peoples-Jones

Composite: 9925

WR Rank: 1

MI: 1

National: 12

Tarik Black

Composite: 9454

WR Rank: 15

CT: 1

Nico Collins

Composite: 9378

WR Rank: 23

AL: 5

It’s a good problem for the fans and coaches to have that much talent but not for a tier one receiver who committed to the right team at the wrong time.

Now that all three of Michigan’s top ball catchers are healthy or expected to be healthy before the fall, the chances Martin would see the field in 2019 dwindled heavily as did any hopes of a playing career in the NFL.

He knew he needed a change of scenery and his home state should welcome him with open arms even if he is required to sit out this season.

It does come as a bit of a surprise as the Wolverines were just injected with a new offense scheme implemented by the first year offensive coordinator Josh Gattis. Even if Martin had to play second fiddle to the starters, more five-receiver sets are expected this season, a season where Martin could have made a splash and worked his way into the starting rotation.

We will never know what Martin could have done at Michigan but we should know soon where Oliver will be importing his speed and ball-catching abilities.

While it would give me great pain to watch Martin catch a couple of TD’s against the Wolverine’s, Iowa is the perfect landing spot for him.

Replacing Martin will be the breakout candidate Mike Sainristil who has been impressing all of the coaches and players alike.

"“Great athlete. Speed like no other and he’s football savvy as well. He’s made numerous plays this spring. Michigan QB Shea Patterson noted after practice. “Missed him today, threw the ball inside. We’ve run that play 20 times in practice for a completion. I think yesterday I threw one on a two-minute drive and he caught one one-handed, made a hell of a play. Very excited about him.”"

There’s also Ronnie Bell who should be competing for duties at the Slot and on the outside.

Another breakout candidate freshman is the tight end Erick All who has been receiving snaps at both TE and WR. The Ohio native made a splash during spring practice and has the collegiate size needed to start early.