The Tate Martell Era will resume in Coral Gables.
Martell - who entered the NCAA Transfer Portal back three days after Ohio State announced Georgia transfer Justin Fields had joined the program - has chosen to continue his collegiate career in at Miami.
right back like we never left...
— TATE MARTELL (@TheTateMartell) January 16, 2019
I’M A HURRICANE! pic.twitter.com/6Dh0gu4fxD
Unless he receives a waiver from the NCAA, Martell will not be eligible to play in the fall. Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports and The Athletic reported Martell is expected to sit out the 2019 season.
Just a few weeks ago, Martell guaranteed he would start for the Buckeyes in the fall, noting he was "100 percent" sure.
“I have no doubt that I'll go out there and win the job,” Martell said on Dec. 30 at Rose Bowl media day.
He said he didn't understand why he would transfer, even if Ohio State brought in Fields to compete with him, which the program eventually did.
“There's no reason I should (transfer),” Martell said. “I know what kind of quarterback I am. I'm an elite quarterback. I know that after two years of being here, I run our offense at a very efficient level, and I know once we put the zone read back in, it will be very fun for me.”
With Dwayne Haskins on his way to the NFL and Martell officially no longer with the program, Ohio State has Fields, redshirt freshman Matthew Baldwin and redshirt senior Chris Chugunov as its only scholarship quarterbacks on the roster heading into spring practices. At a press conference on Dec. 19, Ryan Day said he always prefers to have four quarterbacks on the roster.
At Miami, Martell will reunite with a pair of high-school teammates from Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas – Brevin Jordan and Bubba Bolden– who are pictured in the graphic announcing his transfer. Bolden announced his transfer from USC to Miami a week ago, and Jordan just completed his true freshman season with the Hurricanes.
If Martell successfully earns a waiver to play in the fall, his competition at Miami would be dual-threat redshirt sophomore N'Kosi Perry, who started six games for the Canes in 2018, dual-threat redshirt freshman Jarren Williams, whom Ohio State offered when he was in high school and pro-style redshirt sophomore Cade Weldon.
Last month Miami (FL) hired Manny Diaz, its former defensive coordinator who had already been named Temple's new head coach, following Mark Richt's abrupt retirement after the Hurricanes' loss to Wisconsin in the Pinstripe Bowl. Diaz has since hired Dan Enos away from Alabama to be his offensive coordinator.
