Seven months ago, Tate Martell reopened his recruitment to — essentially — test the waters.

 

He’d been committed to Washington since age 14, and after a sensational season at Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas, Martell wanted to gauge interest of others schools as well. He wanted to see exactly how high his personal stock had risen.

 

After months of calls and visits and figuring out exactly what he’s looking for, Martell committed to Texas A&M. He announced the decision Thursday night on Twitter. He chose the Aggies over Alabama, Michigan, USC and Washington.

Expect plenty of references to Johnny Manziel, the Aggies’ Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback, in the coming months and years. Martell has drawn his fair share of parallels to Johnny Football, mostly due to his size — Martell is 5-11, 180 — and his dynamic ability to make plays with his feet. He can expect to hear even more comparisons now that he’s a Texas A&M commit.

He also can expect comparisons to Kyler Murray, the Gatorade Male Athlete of the Year from Allen, Texas, who arrived on campus this summer. Murray never lost a high school game as a starting quarterback in leading Allen to three state titles.

“Martell is a dynamic QB who is further along as a passer than Kyler Murray but not quite as fast and dynamic as a runner,” said Mike Farrell, national recruiting director for Rivals.com. “But he’s thicker at the same stage and should be even more solid with two years of high school ball left so the only true question is height and his ability to throw through passing lanes rather than over the top as the competition gets better and players get bigger. He has a lot of Johnny Football in him on the field, a great improviser.”

Within two minutes of Martell’s tweet, A&M coach Kevin Sumlin tweeted:

MORE: Why Tate Martell might not be who you think he is

 

Martell, one of the nation’s top quarterback recruits in the class of 2017, is a preseason American Family Insurance ALL-USA selection and rated either as a four-star or five-star prospect, depending on which recruiting service you check.

 

He’s about to begin his junior season at Bishop Gorman, which is No. 4 in the preseason USA TODAY Sports Super 25 high school football rankings.

 

Last season, after earning the starting job midway through the Gaels’ second game of the year, Martell accounted for almost 3,000 yards of offense and 45 touchdowns.