Oregon State transfer running back Damien Martinez commits to Miami

It didn’t take long for former Oregon State Beavers running back Damien Martinez to start racking up the visits. Shortly after he announced his entrance into the NCAA transfer portal, news broke that he had already scheduled five visits. Out of those five visits came a commitment to play for the Miami Hurricanes and head coach Mario Cristobal for the upcoming 2024 season, per On3’s Hayes Fawcett.

For Martinez, it seems like he saved his best visit for last which was with the Hurricanes from April 25-27. Now that he is in Miami, the former Oregon State star running back will team up with fellow former Pac-12 superstar, quarterback Cam Ward, in hopes of not only capturing the ACC conference title but also finishing next season as champions of the college football world.

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire. 

Martinez was one of the best running backs in the country last season, earning first-team All-Pac-12 honors. He rushed for 1,185 yards and nine touchdowns on 194 yards. Coming out of the backfield, Martinez had 11 receptions for 126 yards.

Martinez replayed high school football at Lewisville High School located in the small town of Lewisville, TX, which is located in the Dallas Fort Worth region of the state. He would be listed as a three-star prospect and the 2022 recruiting class with a grade of just over 87, according to the On3 Industry Rankings, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. Martinez was the nation’s No. 615 recruit, ranked 42 among running backs, and was the No. 90-best player to come out of the state of Texas in his class.

While he may have flown under the radar during his high school recruiting, it was clear that was not going to be the case this time around from Martinez in the transfer portal. When the former Oregon State running back entered late in the spring, he was the top-rated running back looking for a new home with a rating of 95. And in terms of all college football running backs who transferred during the 2024 offseason, he was only ranked behind Quinshon Judkins, another three-star prospect at the position out of the 2022 class. Judkins left Ole Miss, one of the five schools Martinez originally visited, and joined the Big Ten’s Ohio State Buckeyes.

The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.