Oklahoma's latest portal addition is Denton (Texas) native Josiah Martin, a talented freshman wide receiver who spent the 2024 season at Cal. He's the fourth transfer wide receiver to commit to the Sooners thus far, joining Javonnie Gibson, Keontez Lewis and Isaiah Sategna.

Shortly after announcing his commitment to the Sooners on Tuesday afternoon, Martin joined The Rush on KREF-AM with hosts Teddy Lehman and Parker Thune for an exclusive interview, the contents of which are reproduced here.

How did your recruitment to Oklahoma go down this second time around?

First of all, thank you for having me. To get right into it, I think it was Coach Emmett Jones who reached out first, the receiver coach; he kind of texted me to see what I was thinking as far as school-wise, the timeline [for] when I wanted to make a decision, and then external factors like Mike Hawkins, just being close with them and their whole family, having constant conversations with them. It was kinda like a no-brainer, honestly. I talked to the new OC, Coach Arbuckle, and we just talked about everything and how this process is going to go. It was a smooth process. Fast, quick. That's that and back home.

When you spoke with Arbuckle, did you talk about how they expect to use you and your role in this offense?

No, sir. I haven't had a conversation with Coach Arbuckle just yet about that specifically. It was more formalities, but having conversations with Coach Emmett, he was just telling me, I'm a guy who can come in and do some damage in the slot and on the outside. Just like that versatility being my skillset, being so fast and able to excel at both. So that's what his mindset was.

What made Oklahoma so familiar to you, especially to those who were unfamiliar with your original recruitment out of high school?

For those who don't know, I went to Denton Guyer High School, and we were kind of like a big pipeline for people to come to you, not just football players but students, too. Unfortunately, it just didn't work the first time. But this is a whole new staff—not a whole new staff—but some new staff members looking for players to come in and make an impact. And I'm definitely taking that opportunity.

As far as the Hawkins family, I mean, shoot, Mikey, Mike Hawkins, one of my best friends, a really solid guy. We always kind of stayed in contact throughout this whole process and all of our conversations weren't necessarily about football. It was more him seeing how I was doing mentally and physically and how everything was going in my previous school. And I took that into account too. Not just wanting a football relationship, but more like creating a family sense between us. And that's what we were able to achieve with everybody in my family and everybody in his, and I'm just very eternally thankful for them.

What was your first year like? Being completely across the country and everything...

I like Cal academically speaking. I feel like Cal did a really good job supporting student-athletes and thriving in the classroom. As far as the distance, it was certainly tough. There were times when some people could go home on the weekend for a few days, either family, like I said, wash clothes, or do stuff like that. Whereas I really couldn't, wasn't afford the opportunity because of distance, but I feel like I grew a lot maturity wise, learning how to handle things on my own and just really growing up in that time period. So it definitely wasn't as bad as it seems. Yeah, that's it.

From a football standpoint, what do you think you learned being there for a year, just getting your first taste of college football at Cal?

I think the biggest thing I learned is that football is football across the board. Either you got it, or you don't, but it comes with a lot of work, and that's when really I learned in college that everybody's good. Everybody's working to get to the place you are. What is going to push you further than your competition? What's going to push you further than the ones around you? And that's what really makes somebody great. And that's why I learned that Cal players like Noah Williams, one of the best quarterbacks in the country, taught me a lot, taught me really how to approach this game professionally and kind of block out all the other distractions and just focus on your craft and focus on your job and doing it. So that's why I learned from Cal.

How about physically? What do you think some of your main focus through the offseason is going to be building your game?

I think my main focus is building strength within plays within the football realm. As in blocking and getting off of releases, not getting touched, and things like that. Just really hitting the weights hard, and I know Oklahoma is going to assist me in that. So that's really my main focus for this offseason. Along with the other stuff, I always got to work constantly on the stuff I'm good at as well as the bad.

What is it about Emmett Jones that makes you confident in trusting your development over the next few years to him?

I think he's overall a solid man. Somebody that I can definitely learn from as a young man, not just on the football field, but everything as far as life. But football specifically, I mean, just look at what he's done with the receivers of the production. I mean, it speaks for itself. And him also being from Dallas, a Dallas native, it just makes everything better. Really solid, really solid cat and I'm excited to work with him.

Is the air raid the system you played in at Cal?

I'm not a hundred percent sure. I know we run similar like the fast pace, faster pace offense, but as far as schemes and concepts and information though, I'm not familiar or I'm not sure.

What is it about Coach Venables and his vision for OU that makes you believe you can be part of something special here over the next few years in Norman?

Answer: He just brings a certain type of passion that a lot of coaches don't bring. It just rallies people around him. When he talks, it makes you want to run through a wall. I mean, he's just a coach that establishes a culture that players and other coaches want to follow. And I think that's kind of the direction that, oh, you said a very, very, very high ceiling for us and I'm just excited to work with him and instill that his mentality on the team and me and yeah.

Are you excited to go compete against some of those corners in the SEC?

Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. I couldn't be more excited. This is what I dreamed about as a kid playing the SEC, the biggest stage, just taking on every challenge one game at a time and enjoying it. I know it goes by fast. I know it is going to be the best years of my life. I'm excited.

You're a former high school teammate of Eli Bowen... excited to go against him on the practice field?

Yeah, he's definitely that guy. It is just a battle that I'm just more than excited. I look at him as a brother; he's a very, very good dude, and I know we're going to push each other on the field. I just know it is bound to happen. We did it before, and we're going to do it again. So, I'm excited to work with my brother.

In a broad sense, what is this program, this football team, getting in Josiah Martin?

With the OU fan base football team and the whole OU as a program, you're going to get a hardworking kid who's ready to come in and give his all every day. Somebody who's not afraid of a man across from him certainly respects him but never fears 'em, always elevating teammates, always pushing us to compete and work harder. That's what y'all are getting and I couldn't be more excited to do a place like Oklahoma. Yeah, I'm, I'm just excited and hope I serve well this season.

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