'Everything happens for a reason': Why Tay Martin is happy with life's winding road that led him to OSU football
Scott WrightOklahoman
STILLWATER — In February of 2020, Tay Martin was happy with his life where it was.
He had just finished a stellar junior season at Washington State, where he was emerging as a star receiver.
He felt he was in a good place to pursue his dream of reaching the NFL.
Then came March of 2020, and like all of us, Martin was dealt some curveballs he could’ve never seen coming.
This New Year’s Day, Martin will play his final college football game, a year late, and what seems like lightyears away from where he expected to finish his career.
The Oklahoma State super-senior receiver will help lead the ninth-ranked Cowboys against No. 5 Notre Dame at noon on Jan. 1 in the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Arizona.
But the winding road that brought him here has come with some blessings amid the challenges.
Rewinding to 2020, Martin was in a promising position at Washington State. He wasn’t a disgruntled, diva receiver looking for greener grass.
But COVID-19 hit, and by August, the Pac-12 Conference revealed it would not play football that fall (a plan that later changed).
“I was fine with everything going on over there, other than the COVID situation,” Martin said.
Still, when the initial announcement of the season’s cancellation came, Martin decided he didn’t want to sit idly by. So he looked for a school where he could transfer and play.
He found Oklahoma State, and was granted immediate eligibility by the NCAA.
That allowed him to join a program with a track record for sending receivers to the NFL, and it would let him play out his college career much closer to his hometown of Houma, Louisiana, where his family — including his daughter, Reign, who will be 3 in February — lives.
Of course, the 2020 season didn’t go as Martin hoped. He played in only eight games, catching 15 passes for 149 yards.
But as a result of the COVID-19 impact on football, the NCAA had granted players an additional year of eligibility. With All-American receiver Tylan Wallace leaving OSU for the NFL, Martin saw a door opening.
Martin cashed in on the extra year of eligibility, and went to work trying to make himself the next in OSU’s long line of receivers with a pro future.
This season, he has 942 yards and seven touchdowns on 70 receptions, leading the team in all three categories.
He got to play for a Big 12 championship, and will conclude his career in a New Year’s Six bowl game — two things that wouldn’t have happened at Washington State.
His NFL stock has risen this year, as well, and he feels more prepared now for the next level, thanks to his close relationship with offensive coordinator and receivers coach Kasey Dunn.
“I learned a lot of X’s and O’s,” Martin said. “With Coach Dunn, in general, being the great receiver coach that he is, just getting to know as much as I did. I’m just grateful to learn those new aspects that will translate to the next level.”
And the life experiences OSU has provided haven’t been lost on Martin, either.
“Great relationships on and off the field,” he said. “Meeting new coaches, learning things on and off the field, just having the opportunity to go out there at Boone Pickens Stadium and make the most of it. I’m grateful for the opportunity and happy it happened the way it did.”
All that’s left is to cap it off with one final game. It’s not where or when he thought it would be, but Martin is satisfied with the direction life took him over the last 16 months.
“Everything happens for a reason,” he said. “I got to have this wonderful season with these guys and I look to end it off in the right way.”
