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Tate Martell had a less than memorable Independence Bowl appearance
By Paul Harvey
Published:
Tate Martell has had an interesting journey since leaving Ohio State.
The former four-star recruit spent the 2018 season backing up Dwayne Haskins in Columbus. In limited action, Martell completed 82.1% of passes for 269 yards and one touchdown. He also added over 100 yards rushing and two more touchdowns on the ground.
After Justin Fields announced he was transferring to the Buckeyes, Martell transferred as well. His destination was Miami.
For the regular season, Martell did not see much time at quarterback and instead saw most of his work at wide receiver. Prior to the bowl game, he had just two carries for two yards as the Hurricanes went 6-6 on the season.
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Taking on Louisiana Tech in Thursday’s Independence Bowl, Miami’s offense once again looked out of sorts. With the team struggling and looking for a spark, the Hurricanes turned to Martell in the second quarter. It didn’t go well.
In the one series he saw under center, Martell had three plays of positive yardage. He did complete one pass for seven yards, but he also had one run for loss and was sacked twice. Martell’s stat line for the day finished at 1-for-1 passing for seven yards and five carries for five yards before Miami punted.
It should be said that there were numerous concerns around Miami’s offense all season long, and it was reported before the game that OC Dan Enos is not expected to return for 2020. None of the three QBs that played for the Hurricanes had a successful outing, and Martell’s (lack of) production may be more of an indicator of Miami’s struggles than his personal abilities.
Louisiana Tech finished the shutout of Miami and won the Independence Bowl 14-0.
Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.