Tate Martell was hoping to finally fulfill his once seemingly infinite potential when he transferred to UNLV this summer, but he does not appear to be a part of the team’s plans at the moment.
UNLV released its first official depth chart this week, and Martell isn’t even listed on it.
UNLV depth chart for Week 1: No Tate Martell.
Excited to see the battle between Doug Brumfield and Justin Rogers continue to the field against E. Washington. pic.twitter.com/h20gS6qu4o
— Cam Mellor (@CamMellor) August 30, 2021
UNLV head coach Marcus Arroyo has not named a starting quarterback for Thursday night’s season opener against Eastern Washington. However, he has narrowed the decision down to sophomores Doug Brumfield and Justin Rogers, who split the majority of first-team reps during camp. Arroyo said he could go with a “hot hand approach.” The coach also admitted that the QB competition “was kind of awkward at first, just because there was a lot of new guys.”
One of those new guys was Martell, who transferred to UNLV from Miami. Martell is technically a walk-on at UNLV, which could be why he is not listed on the depth chart. Either way, it is clear he is not in the mix for the QB job at the moment.
In a series of TikTok slides he recently shared, Martell said his transfer stock suffered after he underwent thumb surgery.
“I hit rock bottom about a year ago and was going to quit football,” he wrote, via Brad Crawford of 247 Sports. “Decided one random day to leave Miami and come home and train. Dedicated all my time to graduating, getting in the best shape of my life and changing myself as a person.
“Then two months ago I had surgery on my thumb, thought everything I worked to beomce was for nothing. UNLV still gave me the opportunity to play for them. I’m extremely grateful. I’m continuing to recover from surgery and work everyday with my teammates.”
After he was featured on Netflix’s “QB1: Beyond the Lights,” Martell originally committed to Ohio State in 2017. He then transferred to Miami after Justin Fields joined the Buckeyes. Martell lost out on the quarterback job at Miami and was shifted to wide receiver. He stood little chance of playing QB for the Hurricanes in 2021 after D’Eriq King announced his decision to return to school.
Martell opted out of the 2020 college football season in September after being suspended by Miami. His journey has been unique, to say the least.
