Is Tate Martell ready to transfer again after losing Miami job?

Tate Martell will not start the season opener for the Miami Hurricanes, so should he already regret his transfer decision?

One of the notable quarterback battles around college football has been decided. On Monday, Miami Hurricanes head coach Manny Diaz announced redshirt freshman Jarren Williams has beaten out Tate Martell and N’Kosi Perry and will start the season opener against Florida on Aug. 24.

Martell came in and is immediately eligible as a transfer from Ohio State, where he lost the starting job to Dwayne Haskins and Justin Fields came to Columbus as a transfer from Georgia to usurp him again after Haskins departed for the NFL.

With the Hurricanes’ season opener less than two weeks away, and it’s hardly a layup against an in-state rival out of the SEC, Diaz had some level of urgency to declare a starting quarterback. He cited Williams’ upside as a differentiating factor, and suggested the No. 2 spot on the depth chart for the game against Florida is not yet decided.

"As we move into preparation for the Florida game we will continue the competition to determine who will serve as the backup quarterback."

So there’s a chance Martell will start the season as the No. 3 quarterback. That’s not how it was supposed to go, so should he already regret his decision to transfer to Miami?

As Lee Corso is prone to say, “not so fast.”

Williams was able to be redshirted after playing in one game last year. That year mostly sitting out surely benefited him, but it seems he could have helped a lackluster quarterback situation as a true freshman if he was really that good.

Perry played in 11 games and started six last year as a redshirt freshman, completing a little over 50 percent of his passes for 1,091 yards with 13 touchdowns and six interceptions. He added 169 rushing yards and another score with his legs.

At one point, Martell seemed to welcome the idea of a competition for the starting job with Fields at Ohio State before seeing the writing on the wall and deciding to transfer. He shouldn’t have been made any promises by the coaching staff at Miami, but it was an easy presumption he would start immediately.

He’s stuck now, but if he remains buried on the depth chart Martell could decide jump ship and re-enter the NCAA transfer portal after the coming season.

Martell may still play a lot for Hurricanes this season, either due to injury or more likely ineptitude around him. So he should wait for his turn, and not be discouraged over a decision to name a starting quarterback for a season opener that’s coming earlier than usual.