Miami Football: Is Tate Martell a better option than N’Kosi Perry?

Although his performance in Miami football’s spring game was sketchy, Tate Martell could still have a high ceiling. Who should the staff turn to?

Tate Martell’s transfer to Miami wasn’t all that big of a surprise given that Ohio State landed Justin Fields this offseason. It put a damper on his plans to become Dwayne Haskins’ replacement and he originally said he wasn’t going to run from competition — until he ultimately did.

But where he ran was just into more competition as he probably didn’t expect N’Kosi Perry to put up this big of a fight.

Martell had a rough spring and many questioned if he was ready to take over as the starter or if new head coach Manny Diaz should stick with his own rising sophomore in Perry who had 1,091 yards and 13 touchdowns to just six interceptions last season while splitting time with Malik Rosier.

Perry might just have surprising upside and that’s something people didn’t realize before spring ball kicked off. Martell does, too, but he never really showcased any passing ability at Ohio State, finishing his Buckeye career with almost as many rushing attempts (22) as completions (23).

That’s not a knock on him, though, as Urban Meyer used him in primarily run-first situations under center. He did complete 23-of-28 passes for 269 yards and a touchdown so clearly he can be an accurate passer, but he didn’t show much of that for the Hurricanes this spring, which had people worried.

So which is the better option for Diaz and Co.?

Martell probably has slightly higher upside than Perry — at least right now — and the staff can’t go wrong by giving him the starting job in Week 0. He’ll get a major test against the strong defense of Florida and that’ll show just how far he’s come as a quarterback but there’s nothing wrong with making a change to Perry against the Gators if Martell isn’t panning out early on.

The Hurricanes have a good problem right now. They have two solid dual-threat quarterbacks who can make things happen in various ways with their arm and legs but just need to see who is more polished.

Right now, it might be Martell — who has learned behind two solid quarterbacks at Ohio State — but don’t be shocked if Perry steals the job by the end of the year.