Miami quarterback Tate Martell was once known as the four-star, dual-threat quarterback who was next in line to become a star at Ohio State. But in January, coach Ryan Day lured five-star, dual-threat quarterback Justin Fields away from Georgia after just one year with the Bulldogs.
At that point, Martell announced that he was leaving the Buckeyes program. He didn't leave because he saw the writing on the wall, he did so because that writing was apparently dictated to him. Martell told ESPN.com that the Ohio State staff told him what his next step should be after the season wrapped up.
"The good thing that happened was that I was told, so I wasn't in a bad situation, he said. "So that's the only thing I can say that was good about the situation is I wasn't lied to."
That would certainly explain why Ohio State did not object to Martell's immediate eligibility waiver application even though, according to the Miami Herald, it had the opportunity to. Despite the guidance and blessing from the Ohio State staff, the decision still was hard on Martell.
"Ohio State, that was my dream school," Martell told ESPN. "I was sick to my stomach. There was almost a point where I was like, 'I'm going to roll the dice anyway' because I wanted to be there. After being there for two years and not playing, I couldn't risk it anymore. There's a point where you love your teammates, you love everything about the school and the people there, but you have to start thinking about yourself and not doing it because these are my teammates. They all understood, and they weren't upset at all."
Martell went 23 of 28 for 269 yards, threw one touchdown pass, rushed for 128 yards and scored twice on the ground as a redshirt freshman backing up Dwayne Haskins in 2018. He was a four-star prospect out of Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas in 2017, the No. 2 dual-threat quarterback in the country and No. 56 overall player in his class.
Martell is in a three-way battle for the starting quarterback job at Miami with sophomore N'Kosi Perry and freshman Jarren Williams. First-year coach Manny Diaz didn't settle on a depth chart following spring practice, so Martell has plenty of work to do to become the starter for the Hurricanes.