Evaluating what Damien Martinez, other spring transfers mean to Miami

Miami made some splash additions via the transfer portal this spring, none bigger than the commitment they just landed from former Oregon State running back Damien Martinez.

A 2022 recruit, Martinez lit Corvalis on fire with his play on the football field from the moment he first stepped on it. As a true freshman in 2022, he popped for 982 yards and seven touchdowns on a Beaver squad that won 10 games.

However, 2022 was a little less fruitful for OSU as the Pac-12 was pillaged, Oregon State lost their head coach and then saw their star running back walk out the door several months later. But during the actual season, the Beavers were strong again, 8-5, and Martinez went for 1,185 yards on the ground.

Now, he’s headed from a corner of the pacific northwest to perhaps the furthest corner of the southeast down in Coral Gables. That’s quite a plane ride, but also quite an addition for Miami, per Pete Nakos, who broke down Martinez’ recruiting process as a transfer on Monday’s live On3 YouTube show alongside Andy Staples.

“He is going to be a Hurricane. He committed Saturday to Miami. Damien Martinez didn’t rush this process by any means. He took visits to Arizona and Mississippi State. He also called off visits to Tennessee and Kentucky. Miami went in-home twice with him, Andy, and I think that made all the difference. The ‘Canes were the team to beat from the beginning. Not much surprise in all of this, but from a football perspective, a huge pickup and what it does to that backfield. It gives Cam Ward another weapon to work with.”

Martinez isn’t the only add of significance for the Hurricanes, and Andy Staples noted that they grabbed an important likely starter from a fellow ACC school.

“Miami wasn’t done this weekend. But in the spring portal, when you get a guy who enters the portal who was clearly in his current teams’ plans for the next year, that’s the one you got to watch. Jaylin Alderman, linebacker at Louisville was one of those guys, he entered the portal, he’s joining Damien Martinez in Miami.”

Nakos kept the train rolling, naming another great commitment for Miami this cycle and explained why they became so attractive this spring.

“Another really big pickup for Miami on Sunday was Houston wide receiver Sam Brown, who started his career off at West Virginia. He has a connection to that coaching staff, I believe he was with Shannon Dawson at one point. I think Miami has become one of the go-to destinations in this spring window. I say that because they have a lot of roster spots and guys are excited to play with Cam Ward.”

Ward himself was a splashy transfer for the Hurricanes back in December. He came from even further away than Martinez, playing for the only other Pac-12 school remaining. So Miami fans can certainly thank the cannibalization of the Pac-12 for some of their best offensive players next season.