The internet was blazing with reactions to a poor showing by new Miami quarterback Tate Martell during a recent spring scrimmage, and it seemed as though we could be in for a sub-par follow-up as the Hurricanes closed out their spring with a scrimmage in Orlando. Martell was not one of the top two quarterbacks to start the spring game. N’Kosi Perry and Jarren Williams were the first passers to get some work in.
N'Kosi Perry got snaps with the first team offense and Jarren Williams took snaps with the second team on the opening drives. Read into that what you may.
— Andrea Adelson (@aadelsonESPN) April 20, 2019
As the afternoon continued, however, Martell seemed to provide some highlights with his new teammates at Miami, suggesting there still could be a positive outlook moving forward for the Ohio State transfer. Martell ended the spring on a positive note by throwing for 154 yards and two touchdowns.
N’Kosi Perry - 9-13 for 145 yards 1 TD
— Gaby Urrutia (@GabyUrrutia247) April 20, 2019
Tate Martell - 6-10 for 154 2 TDs, 7 carries for 29 yards
Jarren Williams - 4-6 for 44 yards 1 TD 1 INT
So maybe Martell just had a rough day in the previous scrimmage that was scrutinized heavily and maybe he showed to new Miami head coach Manny Diaz the ability to shrug that off his shoulder pads to come back strong the next time out. There could be some positive to be drawn from this performance, but whether that means Martell will elevate himself above Perry for the starting job is a bit of a reach right now.
With the spring in the books, Diaz and his staff will now be able to spend some time digging into everything that observed in the spring practices and scrimmages and determines what needs to be done in the summer leading up to the start of the new season. Martell is eligible to play for the Hurricanes this season after receiving approval from the NCAA for his waiver request after leaving Ohio State. Unlike some transfer quarterbacks, Martell didn’t walk into a spot where he is going to be given the starting job right away. If the spring is any indication, he needs to prove he is worthy of the starting job in Miami.