After a brief hiatus, the soap opera that is Tate Martell is back on the air.
Saturday, the quarterback-turned-wide-receiver-turned-quarterback was a no-show for Miami’s embarrassing loss to Florida International Saturday night. Monday, Manny Diaz confirmed that Martell has taken yet another leave of absence that not only sidelined him for Week 13 but will keep him out for the regular-season finale against Duke in Week 14 as well.
“Tate came to me midweek last week, felt like he needed another personal leave,” the head coach said according to 247Sports.com. “We decided together that it would probably be better just to go ahead and take this one and the Duke game and sit out instead of being in and out, in and out and he also reiterated that Miami is where he wants to be. He doesn’t want to leave, but he’s got to resolve these issues and we support him in that.”
The sabbatical is yet another distraction attached to one of the highest-rated quarterbacks -- and most polarizing prospects -- in the Class of 2017.
Instead of bringing it on and competing with Georgia transfer Justin Fields for the starting quarterback job, Martell hightailed it out of Ohio State this past offseason and ultimately landed at Miami shortly thereafter. Granted immediate eligibility with the Hurricanes, and seen as a slight favorite to win the starting job, Martell instead saw Jarren Williams stake his claim as QB1 as Diaz named the redshirt freshman the Hurricanes’ starter to start the season.
Losing out on the starting job led to Martell bailing on practice for the initial personal leave, even as he ultimately returned. Not long after, it was reported that Martell had begun working with Miami’s wide receivers; earlier this month, Martell shifted his on-field focus back to the quarterback position.
Martell was a four-star member of OSU’s 2017 recruiting class, rated as the No. 2 dual-threat quarterback in the country. After redshirting as a true freshman, Martell threw for 269 yards and a touchdown on 23-of-28 passing last season for the Buckeyes while also running for another 128 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries.
At Miami, Martell has yet to attempt a pass or record a reception, but does have two yards on a pair of carries. Since getting in on a couple of plays at receiver in the Week 6 loss to Virginia Tech, Martell hasn’t seen the field.