Sounds the sirens, Tate Martell is taking his talents to Miami

Less than a week after starting the process to leave Ohio State, Tate Martell has announced he’s transferring to Miami.

When news surfaced that Georgia quarterback Justin Fields may transfer to Ohio State, Tate Martell dismissed the idea he’d transfer to avoid competition for the starting job if/when Dwayne Haskins declared for the 2019 NFL Draft. Haskins did declare, Fields has been confirmed to be coming to Columbus, and less than six full days after reports surfaced he had entered the NCAA transfer database Martell has announced he’s headed to the University of Miami.

Martell was a four-star recruit in Ohio State’s 2017 class. He redshirted that year, before seeing a bit of action as Haskins’ backup this past season. He completed 23 of 28 passes for 269 yards and a touchdown, along with 22 carries for 128 yards and two more touchdowns on the ground.

Martell tweeted the news late Tuesday night, with a nod to a reunion with Las Vegas high school teammates tight end Brevin Jordan and safety Bubba Bolden. Bolden is also coming to Miami as a transfer, from USC.

Barring a waiver to be eligible immediately, Martell will have to sit out the 2019 season for the Hurricanes with three years of eligibility left after that. The Hurricanes struggled to find consistency under center last year, but new head coach Manny Diaz will have to wait until 2020 for Martell to be a factor.

A lot of dominoes have fallen on the quarterback transfer market, most notable Kelly Bryant (Missouri), Fields, Brandon Wimbush (UCF) and now Martell after he changed his tune about staying at Ohio State. But the biggest is still to come, as Jalen Hurts makes the rounds after his inevitable departure from Alabama. Miami seemed to push themselves to the front of the line for Hurts, and it’s unclear at this point if landing Martell changes that interest.

But Hurts has one year of eligibility left as a grad transfer, and Alabama’s 2018 quarterbacks coach Dan Enos is now Miami’s offensive coordinator. Hurts would have no trouble usurping N’Kosi Perry and others on the Hurricanes’ depth chart, then Martell would presumably have a clear path to take over in 2020.

For a school that was tabbed “Quarterback U” a long time ago, with a run of signal callers that made it to the NFL, the idea of going from Hurts this year to Martell in 2020 is on the table and puts Miami in an enviable position.