Belle Vernon sophomore Quinton Martin picks up fourth Big Ten offer

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Monday, December 6, 2021 | 9:15 PM

Picture this: Belle Vernon’s Quinton Martin and Cade Yacamelli of Penn-Trafford lining up in the same backfield or defensive secondary at Wisconsin a few years down the road.

You never know.

Now that Martin has a scholarship offer from the Big Ten Badgers — Yacamelli is already committed to play at Wisconsin — the potential exists for the pair of big-play standouts to be future teammates.

Of course, Martin has two more years of high school football. He is only a sophomore.

Yacamelli is a senior running back and defensive back who led Penn-Trafford to its first WPIAL title and a spot in this week’s PIAA Class 5A championship in Hershey.

The players went against each other earlier in the season.

Martin will be one of the headliners in the Class of 2024. He now has eight Power 5 scholarship offers after the Badgers joined his growing list of suitors.

Syracuse also offered last week.

Like Yacamelli, his future position is a coin flip. He is being recruited an an athlete. Some schools covet his speed and agility on offense while others like his canvas-the-field ability at corner or safety.

Martin, a 6-foot-3, 195-pound running back and defensive back, helped lead Belle Vernon (10-1) to a runner-up finish in WPIAL Class 4A. He only played eight games due to an injury, but rushed for 902 yards and 12 touchdowns, averaging 112.8 yards per game.

He also caught 10 receptions for 164 yards and two scores, and had 18 tackles and an interception on defense.

His other offers are from Pitt, West Virginia, Penn State, Rutgers, Virginia Tech and Maryland.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Belle Vernon