Martell joins mix for snaps as ’Canes’ QB
Transfer from Ohio St. was rated No. 2 dual-threat prospect as prep
The Miami Hurricanes have already landed two high-profile transfers in the weeks since Manny Diaz took over as coach.
Now they have added another — at a position of dire need.
Former Ohio State quarterback Tate Martell, who spent Tuesday in Coral Gables meeting with Hurricanes coaches and players, announced on Twitter on Wednesday just after midnight that he was transferring to Miami.
At Miami, Martell will be reunited with two of his high school teammates — tight end Brevin Jordan and former USC safety Bubba Bolden, who announced last week he was joining the Hurricanes.
The trio played together at Las Vegas’ Bishop Gorman High, and in his announcement Martell referenced their friendship and their time together as teammates, posting a graphic of the three in Miami uniforms with the words “Vegas [to] Miami.”
Martell also wrote, “Right back like we never left. … I’m a Hurricane.”
Martell, who was a 2017 U.S. Army All-American and a four-star prospect coming out of high school, made the decision earlier this month to enter his name into the NCAA’s transfer database after former Georgia quarterback Justin Fields enrolled at Ohio State, the Columbus Dispatch reported.
Since then speculation circulated in Columbus and beyond about whether Martell — who the Dispatch reports could be on track to graduate in May — would leave Ohio State. Martell now says that’s his plan, and if he were to graduate in May the rising redshirt sophomore would be
Up for grabs
The addition of
Tate Martell gives Miami potentially four quarterbacks vying for playing time next season:
N’Kosi Perry Jarren Williams Tate Martell eligible
If Martell is not a graduate transfer, Miami could petition the NCAA for a waiver that would let the quarterback play immediately.
On Wednesday, 247Sports.com recruiting analyst Steve Wiltfong reported that Martell had acquired a lawyer to assist him in the process of requesting a waiver, if that is needed.
Last season, Martell completed 23 of 28 passes for 269 yards and one touchdown. Martell, who was rated the nation’s No. 2 dual-threat quarterback coming out of high school, also ran 22 times for 128 yards and two touchdowns.
At Bishop Gorman, Martell earned multiple player of the year honors, including from Gatorade, MaxPreps and USA Today. He went 43-0 in high school, throwing for 7,507 yards and 113 touchdowns with only nine interceptions. He also rushed for 2,294 yards with 35 additional touchdowns for the Gaels.
At Miami, Martell will join a relatively young group of quarterbacks that includes redshirt sophomores N’Kosi Perry and Cade Weldon and redshirt freshman Jarren Williams. Of that group, only Perry has gained any degree of significant college experience.
In 2018, Perry alternated starts with veteran Malik Rosier, who has exhausted his eligibility. Perry started six games last season and to play immediately. played in 11. He completed 51 percent of his passes for 1,031 yards with 13 touchdowns and six interceptions.
Williams, a former fourstar prospect out of Georgia, appeared in just one game — Miami’s 77-0 drubbing of Savannah State. Weldon, who served a fourgame suspension after violating an undisclosed team rule, played in four games and completed 2 of 3 passes.
The group’s inconsistent play on the field and issues off it — Perry and Williams also dealt with suspensions — often forced former coach Mark Richt to lament the Hurricanes’ lack of maturity at the position.
Since being named coach Dec. 30, Diaz has made it clear that each of the quarterbacks on Miami’s roster will be given a clean slate and the chance to compete for the starting job.
But Diaz has also made it clear that improving quarterback play was one of his biggest priorities and if he had to seek out a transfer to help fuel the competition in Coral Gables, he would do it.
Miami had been in pursuit of both Martell and Alabama quarterback Jalen Hurts, who also entered his name into the NCAA transfer database earlier this month.
Both quarterbacks visited Miami in recent days, but Wednesday afternoon Hurts announced he was transferring to Oklahoma. It had been widely thought that with Miami hiring Dan Enos — Hurts’ former quarterbacks coach at Alabama — the Hurricanes had a significant chance to sign the quarterback.
Diaz has said he believes Enos will help all of the quarterbacks in Coral Gables improve, no matter their level of experience.
“I think Dan’s got an outstanding reputation as a great developer of quarterbacks, and certainly the work he did this past year at the University of Alabama with their guys and the way they played was quite remarkable,” Diaz said last week when Enos was hired. “The greatest QB passer rating in college football history — that’s quite an accomplishment. Getting the guys on our campus to maximize their potential, I think, still overcomes anything schemewise.
“That being said, I think Dan is one of the most creative play-callers in all of college football. He was highly sought by other schools in the Southeastern Conference that he turned down to come to the University of Miami. … He meets the requirements of what we felt like our guys needed to have the greatest chance for success on offense.”