Ohio State quarterback Tate Martell can now officially be contacted by other schools about a potential transfer.
According to reports by Lettermen Row's Jeremy Birmingham and the Toledo Blade's Kyle Rowland, Martell has entered his name into the NCAA transfer portal.
A photo from Twitter user @SloppyBaseballs appears to show a photo of Martell's name in the NCAA transfer portal, entered Thursday, alongside other players who could be considering transfers:
@birm @alexgleitman @jbook37 im being told Tate Martell is in Transfer Portal pic.twitter.com/WFstrDVrEL
— FantasyNoob (@SloppyBaseballs) January 10, 2019
Entering his name into the transfer portal does not guarantee that Martell will ultimately leave the Buckeyes. It does mean, however, that other schools are now free to contact him about playing for their program.
Per Birmingham's report, Miami and West Virginia are two schools who could pursue Martell.
During Rose Bowl media day on Dec. 30, Martell told reporters that he had no intentions to transfer from Ohio State, even if Justin Fields transferred into the program.
“I have no doubt that I'll go out there and win the job,” Martell said.
That, however, was before Fields' transfer became official last week. Now, with Fields expected to be the immediate frontrunner for the starting quarterback job if he gets a waiver from the NCAA for immediate eligibility, Martell could look for an opportunity that would enable him to start elsewhere.
Like Fields, Martell – unless he waits until after he graduates – would need to either receive a waiver from the NCAA for immediate eligibility or sit out one year if he opts to transfer from the Buckeyes. Tom Mars, the lawyer representing Fields in his appeal to the NCAA, though, told Bill Rabinowitz of the Columbus Dispatch that he would not represent Martell if he chooses to pursue a waiver for eligibility.
Tom Mars, who is Fields' attorney related to his waiver request and has represented many others in similar situations, won't do the same for Martell: He told me: "I'm not representing Tate Martell, and I have no intention of doing anything on his behalf."
— Bill Rabinowitz (@brdispatch) January 10, 2019
Should Martell transfer, however, the Buckeyes will likely need to pursue another quarterback – whether that comes with a high school recruit on National Signing Day, or with another transfer – as they would be down to just three scholarship quarterbacks: Fields, Matthew Baldwin and Chris Chugunov. Walk-on quarterback Kory Curtis has also entered his name into the NCAA transfer portal, potentially leaving the Buckeyes with minimal depth at the position.
