A bit of a surprise.
We’ve been wondering if Tennessee would pursue a running back following spring practice, and it appears that we have our answer.
According to On3’s Hayes Fawcett, Oregon State running back Damien Martinez has set up visits to five different programs — and Tennessee is one of them. The Volunteers will reportedly host the former Beaver on April 21-22.
Martinez announced his intentions to hit the transfer portal last week.
— damien martinez (@damienfor6) April 10, 2024
His entry into the portal follows some off-field trouble at the end of last season. Martinez was arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence of intoxicants. Oregon State went on to suspend Martinez for the bowl game.
Martinez is coming off of a big season for the Beavers, running for 1,185 yards and nine touchdowns on the year. He ran for 982 yards as a freshman. He averaged 6.1 yards per carry during both seasons.
He will have two seasons of eligibility remaining.
Martinez will also visit Mississippi State, Arizona, Kentucky and Miami. Obviously NIL will play a large role here, and Pete Thamel reports that Martinez turned down $400,000 to stay at Oregon State.
This is interesting from the Tennessee side. Obviously the Volunteers are set to hand the keys to the backfield over to Dylan Sampson, but we also know that Josh Heupel and his staff love to use multiple backs. The only issue is that a lot of that depth is banged up and missed time this spring.
Sophomore Cam Seldon went down with an injury this spring and true freshman Peyton Lewis wasn’t able to participate at all after undergoing surgery upon arrival in Knoxville. That left Tennessee with DeSean Bishop and Khalifa Keith behind Sampson for much of the spring period.
Rehab stints for Lewis and Seldon are a wildcard here, and it looks like Tennessee will take their shot at adding perhaps the top name in the transfer portal currently. With two seasons of eligibility left, you do worry about sending a younger player to the portal as a result, however. But that’s just the name of the game in today’s college football world.
If Tennessee is serious about adding a body to the running back room, I’d expect a couple more names to emerge here in the coming days.