Tate Martell played his high school football at Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas with his Miami football teammates Brevin Jordan and Bubba Bolden before matriculating at Ohio State. Jordan said of Martell that he has “high energy, (and is) cocky. That makes the 5’11 little general, as wide receiver Mike Harley dubbed him, perfect at UM.
Martell left Ohio State following a lot of fanfare entering college. He was the second-ranked dual-threat QB in the Class of 2017. Martell redshirted as a Freshman before backing up Heisman Trophy third-place finisher Dwayne Haskins in 2018.