Ben Martin is glad he kept his options open during the recruiting process.

Martin, a defensive end from LaSalle High School in Cincinnati, is one of the most highly touted players in the country. He's been selected to play in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio on Jan. 6, and he could choose from any school on the country.

Many expected the 6-foot-5, 230-pound Martin to choose between Ohio State and Notre Dame, but he decided to see what else was out there.

Martin, who will take an official visit to Tennessee this weekend, is also considering the Vols and Florida. He said he's glad he opened his list of schools instead of listening to other people's advice.

"I'm sick and tired of people trying to tell me what to do anyway," he said. "It's more me doing my personal thing than worrying about outside pressure or anything like that. Wherever I choose to go it'll be the best place for me and where I thought best.

"It's not going to be because somebody said, 'You're an Ohio guy, go to Ohio State. Your family's from Indiana, go to Notre Dame.' It's not going to be because of any one of those things for me."

Martin said including UT and Florida in the recruiting process has opened his eyes to more possibilities.

"You learn to respect a lot of different kind of people by going through this process," he said, "because you meet a lot of people from a lot of different walks of life by going on these visits and stuff."

This weekend will be Martin's third trip to Knoxville. He took unofficial visits to UT on July 18 and again on Sept. 16 to watch the Vols play Florida. He said the two visits left him wanting to see more.

"The thing that stuck out the most out of those visits was the atmosphere down there and how much the fans really love the football program," he said. "I'm looking forward to meeting a lot of the players and just getting a good feel for the program at Tennessee because I don't know much about it."

Martin was drawn to UT by the chance to play early and the recruitment of offensive coordinator David Cutcliffe, who influenced him to take the unofficial visit in July.

"I just had to check it out," Martin said. "(Cutcliffe) just said what a great place it was and the kind of people they had there. It's a great place for him."

Martin will begin his decision making process after this weekend. He has already made official visits to Ohio State, Notre Dame and Florida and said he will let it be known when his decision is made.

"If it's where my heart tells me to go," he said, "I'll let them know that, but if it's not, then I'll also let them know that. Signing Day is coming up soon, and I'm trying to get some things organized."

Martin said he could have his decision made before he plays in the Army All-American Bowl. Many players wait to announce their school at the game on national television, but Martin said that's not for him.

"If I choose to make a decision before then I'm just going to make it before then," he said. "I'm not going to wait for all the hype and just do it at the Army game just because it's the Army game. It's going to be more because it's what I was ready to do and what I wanted to do."