How a sophomore quarterback from Lee Williams turned one week on the College Bus + Camps TOUR into a blueprint for his recruiting future

When Ace Martinez climbed onto the bus for the College Bus + Camps TOUR, his mind was already racing through the only question that matters to a young quarterback chasing a college dream: How do I show these coaches what I’ve got?

A few days and a few thousand miles later, the rising sophomore had his answer — and a whole lot more than he bargained for.

“I expected it to be a very fun experience,” Ace said, “and it turned out to be even better.”

Meet Ace

Ace Martinez is a quarterback at Lee Williams High School, heading into his 10th-grade season as a member of the Class of 2029. For a player still early in his high school career, the timeline is everything — and Ace understands that the work of getting noticed starts long before signing day.

That’s exactly why he signed up for the Tour in the first place. The pitch was simple in his mind: meet new people, and get his name in front of college coaches.

“I decided to sign up for this Tour to meet new people and get my name out to college coaches,” he said. By the time the bus rolled home, he’d done both — and discovered that the experience reshaped how he thinks about recruiting altogether.

Clemson Stops Him in His Tracks

Every athlete on the Tour walks away with a campus that sticks with them. For Ace, there was no contest.

“My favorite campus was Clemson,” he said. “The campus was amazing and had so many options and opportunities for great things.”

It wasn’t just the scenery. Ace points to the moment he stepped inside Clemson’s football facility as the single biggest “wow” of the entire trip.

“A ‘wow’ moment was when I walked into Clemson and saw how huge their facility was.”

For a 15-year-old standing inside one of college football’s premier programs, that’s the kind of image that doesn’t fade. It’s the picture of what’s possible — and a reminder of the level he’s working toward every time he steps on the field.

Sharpening the Mind, Not Just the Arm

What separates the Tour from a typical camp circuit is that it treats quarterbacks like students of the game, not just throwers. Ace felt that immediately.

He calls the classroom session the toughest part of the week — and, in the same breath, one of the most valuable. The hardest work, it turns out, was the work happening between the ears.

But when asked about the best coaching he received, Ace didn’t hesitate.

“The best coaching I got was from Coach Brooks. He taught me a lot about the mental part of football.”

That’s a telling answer from a young player. Plenty of quarterbacks his age fixate purely on mechanics and measurables. Ace walked away talking about mindset, composure, and the mental side of the position — the stuff that tends to separate good high school arms from real college prospects down the line.

The Stuff You Can’t Put in a Highlight Reel

Of course, a week on the bus isn’t all film study and facility tours. Ace’s favorite memories include the ones that had the whole group laughing.

“The funniest thing on the bus was all the pictures we were all making of each other,” he said.

Those moments matter more than they look. The friendships, the inside jokes, the shared grind of a packed itinerary — that’s the connective tissue that turns a roster of strangers into a brotherhood by the end of the trip. Ace came to meet new people, and he left with a crew.

What He Learned About Himself

Ask most teenagers what they took away from a trip like this and you’ll get a shrug. Ace’s answer was bigger than football.

“I learned that I am capable of doing anything I put my mind to.”

That’s the quiet win buried inside the recruiting trips and the camp reps — the confidence that comes from being pushed, tested, and challenged in a new environment, and coming out the other side believing in yourself a little more than you did before.

By his own account, the Tour did exactly what he hoped on the recruiting front, too. “The Tour enhanced my recruiting goals and taught me a lot about recruiting,” he said — a real edge for a 2029 prospect who now understands the process years ahead of schedule.

His Message to the Next Group

If there’s a more convincing endorsement than a participant who wants to do it all over again, it’s hard to find. Ace doesn’t just recommend the Tour — he vouches for it personally.

“I would tell them to come, and I promise them they will not regret it. It is my favorite part of the year.”

He doubled down on why:

“I think the Tour is an amazing opportunity for anyone. It is so much fun — every day there is never a part when something’s boring.”

The Bottom Line

Ace Martinez showed up looking to get his name out there. He left with a clearer recruiting roadmap, a sharper understanding of the mental game, a new circle of teammates, and a belief in himself that no camp drill can teach on its own.

For a quarterback in the Class of 2029, that’s not a bad week’s work. And if Ace’s energy on this Tour is any indication, college coaches are going to be hearing his name for a long time.

Keep an eye on this one.