CORAL GABLES, Fla. — After giving a try at wide receiver, Tate Martell is now back to devoting most of his time at quarterback.

For the first time since the season started, Martell was practicing in an orange quarterback jersey this week.

Martell projects as UM’s third string quarterback, behind starter Jarren Williams and back-up N’Kosi Perry.

“Tate is working in our quarterback room,” coach Manny Diaz said following Wednesday’s practice.

So is Martell no longer an option at wide receiver?

“He has the flexibility to go in there [at receiver] but he is spending his time primarily with the quarterbacks,” Diaz said.

Why has Diaz and the UM coaching staff decided to move Martell back to the quarterback position group?

“His progress as a wide receiver and where we feel like he can help the team best is at the quarterback room,” Diaz said.

Martell did not attend Miami’s away game at Pittsburgh last week due to a “medical leave of absence,” according to the UM athletic department. Martell has practiced with the team all week and Diaz has been pleased by what he has seen from Martell this week.

“He is doing much better this week,” Diaz said. “When he is around us, he has been really good and really positive. He is a really hard worker. He is doing a good job.”

Is there a chance that Miami may use Martell or even Perry in some special packages moving forward since they have a different skill set than Williams?

Diaz didn’t rule it out, but he says the primary focus should be on getting Williams in a rhythm.

“If you have a need for that [it is possible], but I still feel like we need to get going and establish an identity,” Diaz said. “If we press the way back button and go to the Florida game, which feels like a long time ago and the North Carolina game—we felt like Jarren was off to a good start to the season. He didn’t have a great day against Central Michigan and I think preparation had a lot do with that and then obviously he had a bad start against Virginia Tech. I want to get this thing rolling again. There is an importance to getting behind our guy and that is why I’ve always said Jarren is our guy and let’s get going.

Martell, who transferred from Ohio State, ranked as the No. 56 overall player nationally in the 2017 recruiting class, according to the 247Sports Composite.

For his high school career, Martell went 43-0 as a starter, throwing for 7,507 yards with 113 touchdowns and nine interceptions. Martell also ran for 2,294 yards with 35 touchdowns. As a senior, Martell threw for 2,362 yards with 41 touchdowns and one interception. He also rushed for 1,257 yards and 21 touchdowns.

At Ohio State, Martell took a redshirt in 2017 and saw some action as a back-up quarterback in 2018. Martell proved to be efficient as a back-up, completing 23-of-28 passes for 269 yards with one touchdown. He also rushed for 128 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries.

Martell has yet to throw a pass at Miami. He has appeared in four games and has rushed the ball twice for two yards.