Tennessee football: 5 things Tee Martin brings to Vols as assistant coach

2 Jan 2000: Tee Martin #17 of the Tennessee Volunteers gets ready to pass the ball as Carlos Polk #13 of the Nebraska Cornhuskers comes at him during the Fiesta Bowl Game at the Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Florida. The Cornhuskers defeated the Volunteer
2 Jan 2000: Tee Martin #17 of the Tennessee Volunteers gets ready to pass the ball as Carlos Polk #13 of the Nebraska Cornhuskers comes at him during the Fiesta Bowl Game at the Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Florida. The Cornhuskers defeated the Volunteer /
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Photo by Andy Lyons /Allsport
Photo by Andy Lyons /Allsport /

2. Quarterback development

In addition to wearing lots of hats as an assistant coach, Tee Martin has a somewhat solid reputation of developing quarterbacks. He at least can maximize their abilities, no matter how limited they are.

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Don’t forget that Martin was Kentucky’s passing game coordinator when the Wildcats upset Tennessee football in 2011 with a receiver at quarterback. He also produced back to back NFL quarterbacks with the USC Trojans, as the passing game coordinator when Cody Kessler was there and as the offensive coordinator when Sam Darnold was there.

No reasonable person can look at Darnold’s rookie success with the New York Jets this past season and not think Martin had an impact on that. The track record is enough for us to say that even if he is coaching receivers, Martin can do things that helps quarterbacks develop. This past year may not have worked out, but it doesn’t eliminate the other years of success.

Heck, Martin coached receivers in 2010 when Randall Cobb was playing quarterback for Kentucky. Look at Cobb now. That’s just something Martin can do. He’s able to do what David Cutcliffe did, which is find where quarterbacks are good and maximize their talents.

With issues of quarterback development dating back to the beginning of Butch Jones’s tenure in Knoxville, Martin will be a welcome addition. Jarrett Guarantano could use another coach who has experience in that field, and so could the other quarterbacks on the roster. So don’t sleep on what Martin can do with them, even if he’s not directly coaching them.