Miami football not likely to give Tate Martell chance at quarterback
With the Miami football team moving the ball well on offense with Jarren Williams and N’Kosi Perry at quarterback Tate Martell’s chance to be the Hurricanes signal-caller is not likely unless both Perry and Williams are sidelined.
It appeared that redshirt sophomore Tate Martell might get his chance to play quarterback on Saturday for the Miami football team. Redshirt freshman Jarren Williams who started the first six games of the season for the Hurricanes was sidelined with a sore shoulder.
N’Kosi Perry suffered a shoulder injury against Georgia Tech. Manny Diaz reported on Monday that the injury to Perry was a separation on his non-throwing shoulder. Williams came on in relief of Perry and completed one pass in three attempts for 12 yards. Perry later came back in the game.
When it was announced that Perry suffered a separated shoulder it seemed like Martell’s time could come. The decision on who the starting QB will be for the Miami football team for their game Saturday at Pittsburgh will be announced on Wednesday according to Diaz. It will not be Martell.
The offense moving the football has not been an issue for the Hurricanes. Miami is 62nd in total offense but that is a huge improvement from 2018. The passing offense despite all the criticism of the play calling is ranked 29th in the country this season. The Hurricanes are averaging 279.6 passing yards per game.
Miami is 33rd in passer rating and 28th in completion percentage in 2019. Miami is not 3-4 because Martell has not played quarterback. Manny Diaz has been rightfully pleased with the play of Williams and Perry at QB. Dan Enos was brought in to upgrade the play at QB and run the offense.
Enos has done his job. The only fair criticism of Enos this season is the complete ineptness of the Miami offense on third down and in the RedZone. Miami is 125th in RedZone conversions and on third down. Giving Martell a chance in the red zone and on third and is worth a chance to alleviate those problems.
In short stints last season, Martell played well for Ohio State. He completed 23 passes in 28 attempts for 269 yards and a TD for the Buckeyes in 2018, Martell is known more for his ability to run with the football. He added 22 carries for 128 yards and two TDs rushing in 2018.
Diaz discussed the play of Perry and Williams and the possibility of special packages for Martell in the last five games of the Miami football season.
"“We still have a package for Tate…but when I look at what we’re doing offensively now and I look at our numbers, we had the disastrous first series and we had one three-and-our the rest of the way (in the loss to Georgia Tech Saturday). We got down to the red zone eight times, which basically means we were never stopped.Obviously finishing the drive with field goals, it should have been a 30-point game if not more because there obviously plays in terms of our red-zone execution that we’re still trying to get better. I think when Jarren has played and with what N’Kosi has done the last couple of weeks have absolutely given us a chance to win all of those games.And that’s nothing against Tate, but those guys are playing well.”"
If kickers Turner Davidson and/or Bubba Baxa make one, let alone two or three of the missed field goal attempts in the red zone, Miami wins the game against Georgia Tech. Diaz is not wrong about not putting the onus on the offense on Saturday. Special teams miscues were the biggest contributors to losing to Georgia Tech.
Martell was brought in as a high profile transfer during the 2019 offseason. He has primarily moved positions. If you are not going to give him a chance to play somwhere what kind of message does that send to transfers who might consider Miami in the future. It is worth it to give Martell a chance and see if he can spark the team.