Football
Martin, Tee
Tee Martin
- Title:
- Assistant Head Coach / Passing Game Coordinator / Wide Receivers
Follow Coach Martin on Twitter
Legendary Tennessee quarterback and 1998 national champion Tee Martin returned to Rocky Top when he was hired by head coach Jeremy Pruitt in January.
Martin, who will coach wide receivers and serve as assistant head coach and passing game coordinator, came back to UT after a seven-year stint on the staff at Southern California, where he coached wide receivers since 2012 and added responsibilities as passing game coordinator in 2014 and offensive coordinator at the end of the 2015 season. He also has coached at Kentucky and New Mexico.
Martin coached 12 NFL Draft selections at USC and Kentucky, including current NFL wide receivers JuJu Smith-Schuster, Nelson Agholor, Marqise Lee, Robert Woods and Randall Cobb, and New York Jets starting quarterback Sam Darnold.
Martin was named the 247Sports National Recruiter of the Year in 2016 and tabbed a semifinalist for the Broyles Award in 2017. He helped lead the Trojans to a Rose Bowl victory in 2016 and the Pac-12 Championship and a Cotton Bowl berth during the 2017 season.
The Mobile, Ala., native was a two-year starter at quarterback for UT, leading the Vols to a 13-0 season in 1998, culminating with a 23-16 win over Florida State in the Fiesta Bowl to capture the first BCS National Championship.
For his Tennessee career, Martin passed for 4,592 yards and 32 touchdowns. He added 614 yards and 16 scores on the ground. He finished with a 22-3 record as the Vols’ starting quarterback – an .880 winning percentage that remains the best in school history.
Tennessee (2019 – present)
Martin’s return to Rocky Top helped lead to improvements across the board for Tennessee’s offense as the Vols increased their production in total offense, passing yards, rushing yards, scoring and third down conversions in 2019.
Jennings emerged as one of the SEC’s top wide receivers, leading the Vols with 59 receptions for 969 yards and eight touchdown catches. He ranked fifth in the league in receiving yards and eighth in receptions. He led the nation in broken tackles (30) by a receiver and was named Tennessee’s team MVP at the end-of-season banquet.
Jennings was selected for the Senior Bowl, where he scored a touchdown. He finished his career as one of the top receivers in program history, ranking fifth all-time at UT in receptions (146), fourth in receiving yards (2,153) and tied-for-fifth in touchdown receptions (18). In April 2020, Jennings became the first Vol receiver to be drafted since 2017 when he went in the seventh round to the San Francisco 49ers.
Callaway earned All-SEC honors in 2019 and tied for first in the league in yards per catch (21.2), while making 30 receptions for 635 yards and six touchdowns. Buoyed by his career-best season, Callaway finished No. 16 in school history with 1,646 yards and scoring 16 total touchdowns. He signed a free agent contract with the New Orleans Saints in April 2020.
Junior Josh Palmer also had a career-best season, finishing with 34 grabs for 457 yards and one score.
Under Martin, Jennings, Callaway and Palmer made history by becoming the first trio of Tennessee receivers to each eclipse 100 receiving yards in a game in school history, accomplishing the feat at Missouri in a 24-20 win that clinched bowl eligibility.
Jennings and Callaway each had four 100-yard games in 2019, accomplishing the feat in the same game three times with Palmer joining the senior duo for the first 100-yard trio in school history at Missouri.
Tennessee finished 8-5 and 5-3 in the SEC in 2019, capping the season with a six-game win streak and a 23-22 victory against Indiana in the 2020 TaxSlayer Gator Bowl.
Southern California (2012-18)
Martin coached 11 NFL Draft picks at USC, including nine players selected in the first three rounds.
Martin mentored Darnold, who became USC’s first-ever 4,000-yard passer in 2017 before being selected with the third overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft by the New York Jets. Darnold and running back Ronald Jones (1,584 rushing yards) teamed with wide receiver Deontay Burnett (86 catches, 1,114 yards) to form the nation’s No. 13 offense (484.1 yards per game) in 2017. USC won the Pac-12 Championship that season, finishing 11-3 and advancing to the Cotton Bowl.
Led by Darnold, a freshman All-American, and Smith-Schuster in 2016, USC finished 20th in the nation in total offense (477.1). The Trojans won the Rose Bowl in a 52-49 shootout against Penn State and wrapped up the season with a 10-3 record.
Smith-Schuster collected several All-America honors in 2015 after tallying 89 catches for 1,454 yards and emerging as the latest wide receiver to blossom under Martin.
He followed Agholor, who caught 104 passes for 1,313 yards and 12 touchdowns en route to snagging All-America honors in 2014. In his first year as the passing game coordinator, Martin orchestrated an aerial attack that finished No. 15 in the nation in passing offense and saw Agholor become a first-round pick, while quarterback Cody Kessler was drafted in the third round.
Lee wrapped up his USC career in 2013 as the Trojans’ all-time leader in receiving yards (3,655). In 2012, Lee set the Pac-12 record for receptions (112) and receiving yards (1,721) to go along with 12 touchdowns as he captured the Biletnikoff Award, given to the nation’s top wide receiver, and collected unanimous All-America honors.
Kentucky (2010-11) / New Mexico (2009)
Martin coached wide receivers at Kentucky in 2010-11, adding passing game coordinator responsibilities in 2011. Cobb emerged as an All-American wide receiver and all-purpose player under Martin in 2010, totaling 84 catches for 1,017 yards and scoring 13 total touchdowns en route to being drafted in the second round of the NFL Draft that spring.
Martin got his start in collegiate coaching at New Mexico in 2009 where guided quarterback Donovan Porterie to 2,411 yards passing and 12 touchdowns.
Elite 11 Quarterback Camps, Atlanta High School Coaching and Morehouse College
Following his professional football career, Martin got his start in coaching at Morehouse College in Atlanta in 2006 before coaching at Atlanta high schools, North Cobb (2007) and North Atlanta (2008). He also was a trainer for Nike and the Elite 11 Quarterback Camps.
Background
Martin, who wore No. 17 at Tennessee, was a two-year starter for the Vols from 1998 to 1999. He set an NCAA record with 23 consecutive completions against South Carolina during the national championship season in 1998. He led the Vols to a 9-3 mark in 1999 and a second consecutive appearance in the Fiesta Bowl. Martin grabbed All-SEC honors in 1999 before being selected by the Steelers in the fifth round of the 2000 NFL Draft.
In 2000, Tee Martin Drive was dedicated to the Orange and White legend. The street runs down the south side of Neyland Stadium and connects to Phillip Fulmer Way.
Martin played three years in the NFL with the Pittsburgh Steelers (2001-02) and the Oakland Raiders (2003) and two years in the Canadian Football League with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (2004-05). He also starred for the Rhein Fire in the World Football League in 2002.
He and his wife, Toya, have two sons, Kaden and Cannon, and twins, daughter A’Yadra and son Amari, who is a starting wide receiver at Clemson. His wife is a recording artist with hit singles, “I Do!” (2001) and “No Matta What (Party All Night)” (2002).
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS (1)
1998 – Tennessee (Player – Quarterback)
CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS (3)
2017 Pac-12 – Southern California (Offensive Coordinator/WRs Coach)
1998 SEC – Tennessee (Player - Quarterback)
1997 SEC – Tennessee (Player - Quarterback)
BOWL GAMES COACHED IN (8)
2020 TaxSlayer Gator Bowl – Tennessee
2017 Cotton Bowl – USC
2017 Rose Bowl – USC
2015 Holiday Bowl – USC
2014 Holiday Bowl – USC
2013 Las Vegas Bowl – USC
2012 Sun Bowl – USC
2011 BBVA Compass Bowl – Kentucky
BOWL GAMES PLAYED IN (4)
2000 Fiesta Bowl - Tennessee
1999 Fiesta Bowl National Championship - Tennessee
1998 Orange Bowl - Tennessee
1997 Citrus Bowl - Tennessee
ALL-AMERICANS COACHED (8)
RB Ronald Jones II – USC – 2017 PFF College, AP
OL Chad Wheeler – USC – 2016 Campus Insiders
OL Zach Banner – USC -- 2016 College Sports Madness
CB/WR/KR Adoree Jackson – USC – 2016 Consensus
WR Nelson Agholor – USC – 2014 College Sports Madness, AP
WR Marqise Lee – USC – 2012 Unanimous
WR JuJu Smith Schuster – USC – 2015 AP, FWAA, Sporting News, SI.com
WR Randall Cobb – Kentucky – 2011 AP, Sports Illustrated, ESPN
NATIONAL AWARD WINNERS COACHED (2)
QB Sam Darnold – USC – 2016 Archie Griffin Award Winner, Freshman All-American (FWAA)
WR Marquise Lee – USC – 2012 Biletnikoff Award Winner
NFL DRAFT PICKS COACHED (13 draft picks, 3 first rounders)
WR Jauan Jennings (RD 7) – Tennessee ’20 – San Francisco 49ers
OL Chuma Edoga (RD 3) – USC ’19 – New York Jets
QB Sam Darnold (RD 1) – USC ’18 – New York Jets
RB Ronald Jones (RD 2) – USC ’18 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers
CB/WR Adoree Jackson (RD 1) – USC ’17 – Tennessee Titans
WR JuJu Smith-Schuster (RD 2) – USC ’17 – Pittsburgh Steelers
OL Zach Banner (RD 4) – USC ’17 – Indianapolis Colts
QB Cody Kessler (RD 3) – USC ’16 – Cleveland Browns
WR Nelson Agholor (RD 1) – USC ’15 – Philadelphia Eagles
TE Randall Telfer (RD 6) – USC ’15 – Cleveland Browns
WR Marqise Lee (RD 2) – USC ’14 – Jacksonville Jaguars
WR Robert Woods (RD 2) – USC ’13 – Buffalo Bills
WR Randall Cobb (RD 2) – Kentucky ’11 – Green Bay Packers
Legendary Tennessee quarterback and 1998 national champion Tee Martin returned to Rocky Top when he was hired by head coach Jeremy Pruitt in January.
Martin, who will coach wide receivers and serve as assistant head coach and passing game coordinator, came back to UT after a seven-year stint on the staff at Southern California, where he coached wide receivers since 2012 and added responsibilities as passing game coordinator in 2014 and offensive coordinator at the end of the 2015 season. He also has coached at Kentucky and New Mexico.
Martin coached 12 NFL Draft selections at USC and Kentucky, including current NFL wide receivers JuJu Smith-Schuster, Nelson Agholor, Marqise Lee, Robert Woods and Randall Cobb, and New York Jets starting quarterback Sam Darnold.
Martin was named the 247Sports National Recruiter of the Year in 2016 and tabbed a semifinalist for the Broyles Award in 2017. He helped lead the Trojans to a Rose Bowl victory in 2016 and the Pac-12 Championship and a Cotton Bowl berth during the 2017 season.
The Mobile, Ala., native was a two-year starter at quarterback for UT, leading the Vols to a 13-0 season in 1998, culminating with a 23-16 win over Florida State in the Fiesta Bowl to capture the first BCS National Championship.
For his Tennessee career, Martin passed for 4,592 yards and 32 touchdowns. He added 614 yards and 16 scores on the ground. He finished with a 22-3 record as the Vols’ starting quarterback – an .880 winning percentage that remains the best in school history.
THE MARTIN FILE
PERSONAL INFORMATION
Born: June 25, 1978
Hometown: Mobile, Alabama
Education: Bachelor's in sports management (Tennessee, U.S. Sports Academy, 2004)
Playing Experience: Tennessee, QB (1996-99); Pittsburgh Steelers, QB (2001-02); Rhein Fire, QB (2002); Oakland Raiders, QB (2003); Winnipeg Blue Bombers, QB (2004-05)
Wife: Toya
Children: Kaden, Cannon, A’Yadra, Amari
Coaching History
2006: Morehouse College, Passing Game Coordinator
2007: North Cobb HS, Passing Game Coordinator/QBs
2008: North Atlanta HS, Offensive Coordinator/QBs
2009: New Mexico, Quarterbacks
2010: Kentucky, Wide Receivers
2011: Kentucky, Passing Game Coordinator/WRs
2012-13: Southern California, Wide Receivers
2014-15: Southern California, Passing Game Coordinator/WRs
2016-18: Southern California, Offensive Coordinator/WRs
2019-present: Tennessee, Assistant Head Coach/Passing Game Coordinator/WRs
Tennessee (2019 – present)
Martin’s return to Rocky Top helped lead to improvements across the board for Tennessee’s offense as the Vols increased their production in total offense, passing yards, rushing yards, scoring and third down conversions in 2019.
Jennings emerged as one of the SEC’s top wide receivers, leading the Vols with 59 receptions for 969 yards and eight touchdown catches. He ranked fifth in the league in receiving yards and eighth in receptions. He led the nation in broken tackles (30) by a receiver and was named Tennessee’s team MVP at the end-of-season banquet.
Jennings was selected for the Senior Bowl, where he scored a touchdown. He finished his career as one of the top receivers in program history, ranking fifth all-time at UT in receptions (146), fourth in receiving yards (2,153) and tied-for-fifth in touchdown receptions (18). In April 2020, Jennings became the first Vol receiver to be drafted since 2017 when he went in the seventh round to the San Francisco 49ers.
Callaway earned All-SEC honors in 2019 and tied for first in the league in yards per catch (21.2), while making 30 receptions for 635 yards and six touchdowns. Buoyed by his career-best season, Callaway finished No. 16 in school history with 1,646 yards and scoring 16 total touchdowns. He signed a free agent contract with the New Orleans Saints in April 2020.
Junior Josh Palmer also had a career-best season, finishing with 34 grabs for 457 yards and one score.
Under Martin, Jennings, Callaway and Palmer made history by becoming the first trio of Tennessee receivers to each eclipse 100 receiving yards in a game in school history, accomplishing the feat at Missouri in a 24-20 win that clinched bowl eligibility.
Jennings and Callaway each had four 100-yard games in 2019, accomplishing the feat in the same game three times with Palmer joining the senior duo for the first 100-yard trio in school history at Missouri.
Tennessee finished 8-5 and 5-3 in the SEC in 2019, capping the season with a six-game win streak and a 23-22 victory against Indiana in the 2020 TaxSlayer Gator Bowl.
Southern California (2012-18)
Martin coached 11 NFL Draft picks at USC, including nine players selected in the first three rounds.
Martin mentored Darnold, who became USC’s first-ever 4,000-yard passer in 2017 before being selected with the third overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft by the New York Jets. Darnold and running back Ronald Jones (1,584 rushing yards) teamed with wide receiver Deontay Burnett (86 catches, 1,114 yards) to form the nation’s No. 13 offense (484.1 yards per game) in 2017. USC won the Pac-12 Championship that season, finishing 11-3 and advancing to the Cotton Bowl.
Led by Darnold, a freshman All-American, and Smith-Schuster in 2016, USC finished 20th in the nation in total offense (477.1). The Trojans won the Rose Bowl in a 52-49 shootout against Penn State and wrapped up the season with a 10-3 record.
Smith-Schuster collected several All-America honors in 2015 after tallying 89 catches for 1,454 yards and emerging as the latest wide receiver to blossom under Martin.
He followed Agholor, who caught 104 passes for 1,313 yards and 12 touchdowns en route to snagging All-America honors in 2014. In his first year as the passing game coordinator, Martin orchestrated an aerial attack that finished No. 15 in the nation in passing offense and saw Agholor become a first-round pick, while quarterback Cody Kessler was drafted in the third round.
Lee wrapped up his USC career in 2013 as the Trojans’ all-time leader in receiving yards (3,655). In 2012, Lee set the Pac-12 record for receptions (112) and receiving yards (1,721) to go along with 12 touchdowns as he captured the Biletnikoff Award, given to the nation’s top wide receiver, and collected unanimous All-America honors.
Kentucky (2010-11) / New Mexico (2009)
Martin coached wide receivers at Kentucky in 2010-11, adding passing game coordinator responsibilities in 2011. Cobb emerged as an All-American wide receiver and all-purpose player under Martin in 2010, totaling 84 catches for 1,017 yards and scoring 13 total touchdowns en route to being drafted in the second round of the NFL Draft that spring.
Martin got his start in collegiate coaching at New Mexico in 2009 where guided quarterback Donovan Porterie to 2,411 yards passing and 12 touchdowns.
Elite 11 Quarterback Camps, Atlanta High School Coaching and Morehouse College
Following his professional football career, Martin got his start in coaching at Morehouse College in Atlanta in 2006 before coaching at Atlanta high schools, North Cobb (2007) and North Atlanta (2008). He also was a trainer for Nike and the Elite 11 Quarterback Camps.
Background
Martin, who wore No. 17 at Tennessee, was a two-year starter for the Vols from 1998 to 1999. He set an NCAA record with 23 consecutive completions against South Carolina during the national championship season in 1998. He led the Vols to a 9-3 mark in 1999 and a second consecutive appearance in the Fiesta Bowl. Martin grabbed All-SEC honors in 1999 before being selected by the Steelers in the fifth round of the 2000 NFL Draft.
In 2000, Tee Martin Drive was dedicated to the Orange and White legend. The street runs down the south side of Neyland Stadium and connects to Phillip Fulmer Way.
Martin played three years in the NFL with the Pittsburgh Steelers (2001-02) and the Oakland Raiders (2003) and two years in the Canadian Football League with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (2004-05). He also starred for the Rhein Fire in the World Football League in 2002.
He and his wife, Toya, have two sons, Kaden and Cannon, and twins, daughter A’Yadra and son Amari, who is a starting wide receiver at Clemson. His wife is a recording artist with hit singles, “I Do!” (2001) and “No Matta What (Party All Night)” (2002).
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS (1)
1998 – Tennessee (Player – Quarterback)
CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS (3)
2017 Pac-12 – Southern California (Offensive Coordinator/WRs Coach)
1998 SEC – Tennessee (Player - Quarterback)
1997 SEC – Tennessee (Player - Quarterback)
BOWL GAMES COACHED IN (8)
2020 TaxSlayer Gator Bowl – Tennessee
2017 Cotton Bowl – USC
2017 Rose Bowl – USC
2015 Holiday Bowl – USC
2014 Holiday Bowl – USC
2013 Las Vegas Bowl – USC
2012 Sun Bowl – USC
2011 BBVA Compass Bowl – Kentucky
BOWL GAMES PLAYED IN (4)
2000 Fiesta Bowl - Tennessee
1999 Fiesta Bowl National Championship - Tennessee
1998 Orange Bowl - Tennessee
1997 Citrus Bowl - Tennessee
ALL-AMERICANS COACHED (8)
RB Ronald Jones II – USC – 2017 PFF College, AP
OL Chad Wheeler – USC – 2016 Campus Insiders
OL Zach Banner – USC -- 2016 College Sports Madness
CB/WR/KR Adoree Jackson – USC – 2016 Consensus
WR Nelson Agholor – USC – 2014 College Sports Madness, AP
WR Marqise Lee – USC – 2012 Unanimous
WR JuJu Smith Schuster – USC – 2015 AP, FWAA, Sporting News, SI.com
WR Randall Cobb – Kentucky – 2011 AP, Sports Illustrated, ESPN
NATIONAL AWARD WINNERS COACHED (2)
QB Sam Darnold – USC – 2016 Archie Griffin Award Winner, Freshman All-American (FWAA)
WR Marquise Lee – USC – 2012 Biletnikoff Award Winner
NFL DRAFT PICKS COACHED (13 draft picks, 3 first rounders)
WR Jauan Jennings (RD 7) – Tennessee ’20 – San Francisco 49ers
OL Chuma Edoga (RD 3) – USC ’19 – New York Jets
QB Sam Darnold (RD 1) – USC ’18 – New York Jets
RB Ronald Jones (RD 2) – USC ’18 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers
CB/WR Adoree Jackson (RD 1) – USC ’17 – Tennessee Titans
WR JuJu Smith-Schuster (RD 2) – USC ’17 – Pittsburgh Steelers
OL Zach Banner (RD 4) – USC ’17 – Indianapolis Colts
QB Cody Kessler (RD 3) – USC ’16 – Cleveland Browns
WR Nelson Agholor (RD 1) – USC ’15 – Philadelphia Eagles
TE Randall Telfer (RD 6) – USC ’15 – Cleveland Browns
WR Marqise Lee (RD 2) – USC ’14 – Jacksonville Jaguars
WR Robert Woods (RD 2) – USC ’13 – Buffalo Bills
WR Randall Cobb (RD 2) – Kentucky ’11 – Green Bay Packers
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