Miami Hurricanes QB Tate Martell eligible because Ohio St didn’t want him

Miami Hurricanes quarterback Tate Martell was reportedly granted 2019 eligibility because Ohio State did not oppose his transfer.

There was a lot of speculation about whether or not Tate Martell would be ruled eligible to play for the Miami Hurricanes in 2019 following his transfer from Ohio State in January.

Martell’s attorney Travis Leach spoke to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald but would not reveal what the basis of his argument was with the NCAA to get the waiver granted. The majority of analysis leading up to Martell being ruled eligible centered on former Ohio State Head Coach Urban Meyer retiring.

The case was thought to be that Martell transferred because of Meyer’s departure coupled with the addition of former Georgia quarterback Justin Fields to the Buckeyes roster severely limited Martell’s chance to be a Ohio State’s starting QB.

Jackson spoke with a source that said Ohio State lack of opposition to Martell transferring to Miami and that they made no effort to get him to stay in a Columbus greatly impacted the NCAA’s decision to grant the waiver.

Ohio State’s decision to add Fields obviously soured Martell on his place on the Ohio State football team. As Fields chose to transfer stuck behind Jake Fromm at Georgia, so did Martell who would likely have been stuck behind Fields in Columbus. Jackson’s source elaborated on Martell’s frame of mind.

"“No efforts were made by Ohio State to rectify the feelings between the two…Tate felt it was in his and Ohio State’s best interests to transfer.  Ohio State did not object to that or try to get him to change his mind…At that point,” according to a UM source, “he’s run off and now has to find a new home and found [UM].”"

There has been a lot of sentiment nationally that Martell’s waiver being granted would create a free for all in the future regarding transfers. Quarterbacks are a specialty compared to other positions.

If a QB is not the starter the likelihood is whatever playing time they receive, if any, would essentially be meaningless. Leach disputes the theory that allowing players to not have to sit out one year following a transfer will amount to FBS free agency.

"“This was a fact and circumstances case…I don’t think this is something you will see a wholesale change to the way people look at [NCAA transfer cases]. It was a unique situation.”“I think what you had here is a situation where the request was made in a way that Ohio State did not oppose what we put in our request and they were cooperative with Miami…That ultimately was helpful to us.”“We are incredibly happy with the result…It’s the right decision for the NCAA. It shows they have the best interests of the student athlete at heart. The NCAA looked at this long and hard and asked really good questions.Here, if you had a case where you are not receiving opposition from the other institution, you should look at what’s in the best interest of the student athlete.”"

Martell was one of many high profile quarterbacks to transfer after last season. Kelly Bryant left Clemson last September and is now at Missouri, Jalen Hurts went from Alabama to Oklahoma who lost Austin Kendall to West Virginia and of course, Fields.

The multitude of QB transfers might not create a rampant increase in transfers overall in FBS. If this offseason is any indication, highly recruited QBs who don’t win a starting job are likely to move on to find better opportunities elsewhere for the foreseeable future.