A move to WR would benefit Tate Martell and Miami football

The surprise announcement of Jarren Williams as the starting quarterback for the Miami football program has posed the question of what is next for Tate Martell and former Hurricanes starter N’Kosi Perry.

Tate Martell ran for 2,294 yards and 35 touchdowns in his high school career. Martell was named the National Player of the Year as a Senior by Gatorade, MaxPreps, and USA Today. He was a high school teammate of Miami football teammates, sophomore tight end Brevin Jordan and safety Bubba Bolden.

Moving Martell to wide receiver would help his career. The transition of a quarterback to wide receiver has been a frequent one in college football and the NFL over the last couple of decades.

Several elite college football QBs have become WRs later in their careers. Several were established at QB and moved for personnel reasons or to further their own careers. The Pittsburgh Steelers have led the way in utilizing former QBs at WR.

Hines Ward at Georgia, Antwan Randle-El at Indiana and Kordell Stewart at Colorado all became star WRs for Pittsburgh or at least spent part of their tenure with the Steelers as a wideout. Several other NFL teams and college football programs have converted QBs to WR.

Braxton Miller and Terrelle Pryor of Ohio State and Julian Edelman at Kent State and the New England Patriots all made successful transitions to WR after excelling at QB. There are several other examples as far back as former Miami Dolphins WR Freddie Solomon who played QB at Tampa.

The scouting report on Martell by ESPN coming out of high school lends well to him being successful at wide receiver. He is an exceptional athlete who is a great runner, shifty and has good feet. The worldwide leader also likes Martell’s makeup and competitive spirit. He is a good player to have in the Miami football program.

"“Very good athlete with great feet. He’s a good enough runner to be a factor with his legs if he needs to be…Buys a lot of second chances and can create on his own…Is highly competitive and plays with urgency. Everything he does happens fast…It is very easy to like this kid despite the measurable concerns.Possesses competitive intangibles. He possesses toughness and is savvy enough to excel in a variety of offenses…Although not a burner, he is athletic enough to extend plays and move the chains. We like his moxie.”"

The skillset that ESPN liked for Martell at QB would translate well to his success at WR. Barton Simmons of 247Sports.Com presented the possibility of Martell playing WR. Williams being named the first-team QB is not an indication of failure for Martell or Perry. Simmons elaborated on that and the potential of Martell at WR.

"“This isn’t an attempt to paint Martell an underappreciated superstar, but a friendly reminder that he’s not to be written off just yet.Julian Edelman parlayed a quarterback career at Kent State into NFL stardom at wide receiver and there’s some growing opinions that Martell, a 5-foot-11 athlete with 2,300 rushing yards in high school, would be well-suited catching passes out of the slot.”"

At 5’10, 198 pounds, Edelman is shorter than Martell. Edelman threw for 4,997 yards and 30 touchdowns and ran for 2,483 yards and ran for 22 TDs during in three years at Kent State from 2006-08. Edelman’s successor in New England over the past two seasons has been projected to be former Miami WR Braxton Berrios.

Berrios would obviously not have time to work with Martell this season except on the Patriots bye week. In the offseason, the Miami football program could bring the 2017 Hurricanes receiving triple crown winner back to work with Martell. Any major positions changes are best done during the offseason.

Miami moved DeeJay Dallas from wide receiver to running back in 2017 due to depleted depth at the position. Dallas adapted well and ran for 217 yards and 5.1 yards per carry despite changing positions midseason.