There's still plenty of time until National Signing Day 2016 rolls around -- 11 and a half months, to be exact -- but that doesn't mean that the Texas Longhorns offered Port Arthur (Texas) Memorial all-purpose back Kameron Martin at the right time.
The 5'10, 170-pounder picked up his long-awaited offer on Tuesday, but it came seven months after he committed to the Baylor Bears and 10 and a half months after he thought it would come.
Let's flash back to last spring -- after rushing for more than 1,000 yards and 16 touchdowns as a sophomore, Martin put himself squarely on the radar of programs around the country.
Since he worked hard to get his name out there even during and after his freshman season, Martin's name was known around the recruiting community remarkably early. His breakout sophomore season merely confirmed what he'd been saying all along. Kameron Martin was a name to watch. Officially.
Baylor believed. The Bears were one of the first to offer Martin after watching him in person at a summer camp in 2013, prior to his impressive sophomore season. Texas Tech offered the next day to keep from falling too far behind, willing to trust the evaluation of head coach Art Briles and his staff.
Now, the Longhorns don't have to work from a position of such desperation, but by mid April of 2014, Martin held offers from Arizona State, Arkansas, Cal, Clemson, Colorado, Florida, Florida State, Houston, Louisville, Miami, Missouri, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Utah, Wake Forest, Washington State, and Wisconsin.
Martin tripped to Texas numerous times to show his interest in the Horns, the program that helped his cousin Jamaal Charles run to stardom.
"My interest in Texas is very high, I would say about a 10," Martin told Scout in late March of 2013. "The coaching staff is a staff that is all about taking care of your business on and off the field. This week coming up I will have a surprise for everybody, that offer is coming."
Except the offer didn't come and the ideal window for Texas to enter Martin's recruitment came and went. Pretty soon, he wasn't even mentioning the Horns among this top programs.
Then, on July 15, he ended his recruitment by committing to one of the first programs to believe in him.
In the months since, Martin turned in a strong junior season, gaining 884 yards on 148 carries and scoring 17 touchdowns on the ground.
And there was this:
Due to plays like that, he solidified his ranking as a consensus four-star prospect and the nation's No. 2 all-purpose back. Perhaps he even stopped wondering about when or if that Texas offer was finally going to come.
In December, he used Twitter to affirm the solidity of his pledge to the Bears:
Will it's official I'm deciding to keep it 100 % with Baylor pic.twitter.com/ugV8UykhJp
— Kameron Martin (@TeamKamMartin) December 21, 2014
Now Martin finally has the offer he coveted so much, once upon a time, and now the relentlessness of head coach Charlie Strong and his staff can begin to tell. As with late 2015 flip PJ Locke, Martin grew up a fan of the program.
Problem is, the loyalty of Martin to the Baylor program that believed in him for a full 20 months while Texas demonstrably did not could factor in heavily. Not so heavily that the Horns won't have a chance at all, but heavy enough that it's clear the staff hit the hard button on a recruitment that could already be over in favor of Martin's longtime favorite.
As it stands, it may be time for Charles to give his little cousin a call and remind him of what Texas can do for him.