Prior to the end of last season with Ohio State, Tate Martell was told to transfer

“Martell waited his turn, believing 2019 would be his year. Then Urban Meyer stepped down. Martell says he was told toward the end of the season he would be better off finding another school”

— Andrea Adelson on Tate Martell’s transfer to Miami (FL) from Ohio State | ESPN

As we head deeper into the spring — preparing for the new college football season to start in August— we are still seeing (and hearing) how the conclusion of last season shaped up for the Ohio State Buckeyes. Urban Meyer stepping down, the Rose Bowl victory happened, and the quarterback carousel that took place heading into the spring game were all part of the turbulent winter/spring months for OSU.

In an article by Andrea Adelson of ESPN.com, she caught up with Tate Martell, one of the QBs that transferred out of Ohio State. Adelson writes about how Martell became a highly touted recruit in the eighth grade, the ensuing top-tier offers that followed, and his eventual commitment to the Buckeyes. Then, the article spins into the OSU years—ones that didn’t feature Martell in a large role.

The culmination takes place with the unveiling that Martell was nudged into transferring out of Columbus last season. When the season came to a close, Georgia QB Justin Fields was transferring in. Even though Martell stood firm, saying that he wasn’t going to leave during the Rose Bowl media gatherings, he eventually did depart from Ohio State.

Now at Miami (FL), Martell is fighting for the starting job. A new head coach and offensive coordinator are with the Hurricanes, so everyone is stuck in the learning process of a new scheme.

I totally get why Martell left. He thought he was going to have Meyer be his coach, and when Meyer announced his retirement, the scheme was changing on the offense. Especially after the electrifying season Dwayne Haskins had, the identity of Ohio State’s offense changed since Martell arrived on campus. With both Martell and Matthew Baldwin out of the Buckeye program, it’s an absolute that Fields will be the starter heading into Week 1 against Florida Atlantic.

The question now is this: how will Martell do at Miami?

“Talent certainly isn’t an issue for Fields. How quickly will Day get the sophomore playing up to his potential in 2019?”

— Steve Lassan | Athlon Sports

Speaking of Justin Fields, another round of college football QB previews are in. Last week, Sporting News had Fields as the No. 11 QB on their Top 25 preview; in the Big Ten, Fields was graded as the third best behind Shea Patterson and Adrian Martinez.

I thought Fields should’ve been second best, switching spots with Martinez. Well, Athlon Sports came out with their early predictions, and they have Fields as the second best QB in the conference—trailing only Patterson.

Behind the OSU and U-M duo are a pair of Big Ten West signal-callers. Martinez, the QB for Nebraska, is third, while Iowa’s Nate Stanley comes in at fourth. Michigan State’s Brian Lewerke rounds out the top-5.

Of note: With Trace McSorley’s Penn State career over, the Nittany Lions will be breaking in a new quarterback. Unlike Justin Fields/Ohio State, Steve Lassan has PSU’s new projected QB, Sean Clifford, as the No. 11 guy in the conference under center.

Overall, I think this ranking was fair. But remember that projections are just that. We’ll see how it all really unfolds in the fall.

This is a big time for television. The upfronts — basically a pitch from networks to advertisers — for NBC, FOX, Disney (ABC/ESPN), CBS and the CW are taking place throughout the week. FOX went yesterday, and in addition to unveiling new shows, talked about their sports lineup.

While WWE Smackdown Live! and Thursday Night Football are coming to FOX’s lineup this fall, their plan for college football Saturdays was teased, too. Instead of doing what ABC/ESPN has done with the marquee game of the week being put in primetime, FOX will be putting their best game of the week on at noon.

For the purist, noon kickoff Ohio State games seem like a dream come true. For those loving the night game atmosphere, this news wasn’t good. Especially those in the Eastern Time Zone, noon works. However, if you’re in Central time, your top college football game on FOX is taking place during brunch. And if you’re on the West Coast, it’ll be breakfast time when the the FOX marquee game of the week gets going.

Personally, I like this move. With FOX showing their best game early, it means you don’t have to constantly flip between three or four channels in the primetime hour.

What do you think?

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