What happened to Tate Martell? Why was he transferred again?
Tate Martell was once the second-ranked dual-threat quarterback in the country and the second-best player in Nevada.
The former Ohio State and Miami (FLA) quarterback, though, is on the move again.
The former Bishop Gorman great will now take his talents to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). Martell will now play for his third college football team. 247 Sports had Martell as a four-star quarterback coming out of Bishop Gorman.
Tate Martell has had an interesting road during his college career, and he still has two years of eligibility left. After not playing any significant snaps at either Ohio State or Miami (FLA), Martell will hope that third time's the charm.
Why did Tate Martell leave Ohio State?
The former Buckeyes coach placed Tate Martell into some goal-line packages. Martell was recruited by current Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer. Still, some would argue that Meyer pulled off the move to keep Martell in Columbus.
Ultimately, Tate Martell transferred to the Hurricanes because Justin Fields moved to Ohio State from Georgia. Martell explained his experience at Ohio State in an interview with ESPN.
"Ohio State, that was my dream school. 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. The good thing that happened was that I was told, so I wasn't in a bad situation. So that's the only thing I can say that was good about the situation is I wasn't lied to."
Cognizant of the situation he found himself in, Martell decided to transfer to the Miami Hurricanes to compete for the starting quarterback position. Unfortunately for him, it wasn't an easy task.
Why is Tate Martell leaving Miami (FLA)?
When Tate Martell joined the Hurricanes, he immediately entered a quarterback battle with redshirt freshman Jarren Williams. The former Buckeyes quarterback was beaten out by Jarren Williams. Martell found himself in a familiar situation with the Hurricanes.
The Bishop Gorman product appeared in three games for the Miami Hurricanes in 2019. Martell completed one pass in those appearances. That one pass completion went for seven yards.
In September, Miami Hurricanes head coach Manny Diaz announced that Tate Martell would be suspended for the season opener against UAB in 2020. That ultimately led to Tate opting out of the 2020 season.
Martell's future with the Hurricanes was uncertain. D'Eriq King transferred in and took over the offense at Miami. That led to Martell announcing, once again, that he would pursue a move.
What to expect from Tate Martell at UNLV
Two famous sayings come to mind when talking about Tate Martell's recent landing spot. "Third time's a charm" and "There's no place like home." Martell is heading back to Las Vegas, where his football journey began.
Five years ago, Tate Martel sent out a direct message that was a shot at San Jose State starting quarterback Nick Starkel. Martell threw enough shade to cover the sun at Starkel.
"Texas A&M I can start as a true freshman easy, all their QB's left and all there is going to be is Nick Starkel and he's a** my dude."
That beef between Starkel and Martell is rumored to be over, but it still drives some motivation for Starkel.
Expecting anything from Tate Martell at UNLV is a far stretch. He has only completed 24 out of 29 passes for 276 yards and one touchdown in his college career. Martell must know that this is most likely his last stop. He must leave it all on the field at UNLV to salvage something from his peripatetic career.