It seems Tate Martell had one foot out the door long before his eventual transfer following the 2018 season.
Last year, Martell was in the process of creating an in-season transfer request appeal, citing Urban Meyer's three-game suspension as a reason, according to Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports.
This came before the NCAA transfer portal opened on Oct. 15, which revolutionized college football transfer decisions and made the news much more public.
From Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports:
It is not believed Martell ultimately filed the appeal with the NCAA and may have been advised against it. Last season, Martell stayed for his redshirt freshman campaign as a backup for Heisman Trophy finalist Dwayne Haskins.
It's not clear if Meyer's suspension was the sole reason Martell considering an appeal. Meyer was suspended before the season for what the school called "insufficient management action" regarding former Ohio State wide receivers coach Zach Smith.
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Ohio State told CBS Sports it was not aware that Martell was considering an in-season transfer request and waiver appeal over Meyer's suspension.
"We have great respect and appreciation for what Tate brought to our program and we wish him all the best as he begins this new chapter as a student-athlete," the program said in a statement. "This isn't something that we were aware of prior to your request for comment."
Martell ultimately did transfer from the program shortly after five-star quarterback Justin Fields transferred to Ohio State, despite his public proclamations that he would remain at Ohio State and win the starting quarterback job.
