Tate Martell silences critics with dedication to Miami football
Tate Martell’s absence from practice on Monday was an overreaction from his thousands if not millions of critics. Martell shows no indication of any plans to leave the Miami football program.
The report of Tate Martell missing Miami football practice on Monday brought out thousands if not millions of trolls on Twitter on Monday. There was an overabundance of critics speculating on why Martell was not at practice. Reports came out on Tuesday morning that Martell was back at practice and attended a team meeting.
The team meeting that Martell attended was on Monday and he was back at practice on Tuesday. Martell has not shown any indication that he is planning on transferring from Miami after Jarren Williams was named the starter on Monday,
Martell and fellow redshirt sophomore N’Kosi Perry were beaten out for the starting quarterback on the Miami football team as announced by head coach Manny Diaz on Monday. Martell and Perry will battle over the next ten days to be the second-team QB against Florida a week from Saturday.
Head coach Manny Diaz appeared on WQAM the Joe this morning on the Joe Rose morning show to discuss naming Jarren Williams as the head coach. Among the related topics Diaz talked about with Rose and co-host Zach Krantz was the possibility of Martell or Perry transferring after not being named the starting QB.
"“We told them right now that we felt it was too close to call for who the backup would be. So we want both of those guys to fight that out to find out. I know it’s the old story, but you’re a snap away. For me, the story is that three guys proved on our practice field that they can lead the University of Miami to wins.Where we were on Jan. 1, we weren’t sure there was a guy that can do that. That’s the benefit that we have.”"
Williams will be the starter barring an injury, illness or complete ineptness in his play. The possibility exists for Martell to play some in special packages. Martell ran for 128 yards and two touchdowns on 5.2 yards per carry with Ohio State in 2018. He received playing time in some special packages for the Buckeyes.
The possibility of Martell switching positions has also been proposed by outside sources. There has been no indication that Miami is considering Martell at anywhere other than QB at this point. During Miami football media day on Tuesday, Diaz was open-minded about the possibility of Martell helping the team to move the football.
"“Whatever it takes to get yards and get points, we’re not opposed to anything,”"
The support for Martell from sane minds around college football has been stated on Twitter. The U producer Billy Corben chimed in.
Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reported on Tuesday afternoon that Diaz hopes that Martell and Perry stay with the program. A later update indicated that Diaz expects Martell to continue with Miami. If Martell moves on this season he would have to sit out at any FBS football program.
Martell played with Miami sophomore tight end Brevin Jordan and redshirt sophomore safety Bubba Bolden who just transferred from USC at Bishop Gorman high school in Las Vegas. Jordan was quoted by Inside the U’s Andrew Ivins during Miami football media day.
"“I have spoken with Tate. He’s in good spirits. At first, he was a little down because he’s such a competitive guy and he has such a competitive nature to him. You know in high school he never lost and then he went to Ohio State and didn’t play. So he came here wanting to play because you know he’s a quarterback…I’m proud of how he has handled all this because Tate is under a lot of pressure. You guys saw Twitter, he was trending. Just that whole thing … but he has bounced back and is in good spirits and he is part of the University of Miami football team.”"
The expectation going forward is that Martell will be a part of the Miami football team for at least the 2018 season. He could potentially graduate next year and move on to another program as a graduate transfer with two years of eligibility remaining and immediate playing time. The backlash against Martell on social media was immature.
Most fans and media who trolled Martell do not know his entire situation or all the facts. The hatred towards Martell is largely because he is a high profile player. Martell was on the TV Show QB1: Beyond the Lights in high school, because well known because he attended Ohio State and had a high profile transfer to Miami.