Tay Martin, Washington State’s top returning outside receiver, enters transfer portal
Tay Martin has made dozens of key plays for Washington State’s football team the last three years, starting as an outside wide receiver as a true freshman and developing into a fringe NFL prospect by his junior year.
Martin still has a few more plays to make as a college football player, but it appears they won’t come in a Washington State uniform.
The rangy, athletic Martin is entering the NCAA transfer portal just one week after the Pac-12 postponed its fall season due to the coronavirus pandemic. Martin’s decision to enter the portal was reported by Rivals.com, and the receiver later confirmed it with The Spokesman-Review.
It’s unclear why Martin is leaving Pullman on the horizon of his senior season, but the timing of it suggests the 6-foot-3, 186-pound receiver could be looking to play elsewhere this fall in order to boost his chances of being selected in the 2021 NFL Draft.
The Pac-12 and Big Ten aren’t holding fall football seasons, but the SEC, ACC, Big-12 and multiple mid-major conferences are still moving forward. The Pac-12 is targeting a spring football season but hasn’t unveiled any plans as to what that would look like or when it would start.
Moving out of the Pac-12 would likely bring the Houma, Louisiana, native closer to home, where he has a 1-year-old daughter, Reign Christine Martin. Most of Martin’s football offers coming out of high school came from schools in the South; the former two-sport star was once committed to Tulane’s basketball team before opting to play football at WSU.
Martin was the team’s top returning outside receiver and has been productive in each of three seasons with the Cougars, catching 143 passes for 1,615 yards and 18 touchdowns. His best season came as a sophomore when Martin caught 69 passes for 685 yards and eight touchdowns.
With Martin’s departure, WSU now has to replace each of the four outside receivers who played in Mike Leach’s rotation last season. That group includes Dezmon Patmon (58 receptions, 762 yards, 8 TDs), who was recently selected by the Indianapolis Colts in the seventh round of the NFL Draft, and Easop Winston Jr. (85 receptions, 970 yards, 11 TDs), who was a priority free agent signing for the Los Angeles Rams. Rodrick Fisher (19 receptions, 265 yards, 1 TD), a Spokane native and East Valley High graduate, left the football program after starting in six games his redshirt freshman year.