When Sept. 1 rolled around on Tuesday, college coaches could start actively reaching out to and recruiting junior football prospects in the class of 2022, per NCAA rules.

One recruit who has been contacted by numerous coaches over the past couple of days is Apopka (Fla.) four-star cornerback Nikai Martinez.

Martinez (5-11, 170) told The Clemson Insider he has heard from the Tigers since Tuesday as well as a bunch of other schools on his list of nearly 20 offers, such as Louisville, West Virginia and Kentucky.

“It felt good knowing all of those coaches cared about me and what I can bring to their school,” he said.

According to Martinez, the Tigers buzzed his phone first thing Tuesday morning.

“Just sending a good morning text and sent me a little message to start off my day,” Martinez said.

While it was a simple text message on the surface, it was received as more than that by Martinez in terms of the Tigers’ involvement in his recruitment.

“It meant a lot,” he said of the fact Clemson hit him up on the first day coaches could contact recruits in his class. “It meant that I was still on the radar and (they) still were pushing for me to be a Tiger.”

Martinez, who picked up an offer from Clemson in June, feels he has already built a great bond with the coaches and that it will only get better moving forward.

“I think my relationship with Clemson is strong,” he said, “and now that they can contact us, we will be able to make it even stronger.”

Martinez is ranked as high as the No. 20 cornerback and No. 171 overall prospect in the 2022 class by Rivals. As a sophomore last season, he recorded 56 total tackles and four interceptions.

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