Like the guy who took his job at Ohio State, Tate Martell is petitioning the NCAA for immediate eligibility following his transfer to Miami last week.

Martell’s petition, however, will be based on “coaching turnover.”

Should he and his Phoenix-based attorney, Travis Leach, win this thing, it has the potential to set an enormous precedent.

Martell was recruited to Ohio State by the now-infamous Zach Smith while Tim Beck and Ed Warinner shared offensive play-calling duties. By the time he arrived in Columbus, Beck and Warinner were gone—replaced by Ryan Day.

Fast forward two years later, head coach Urban Meyer is gone, Day’s the head coach, and Smith’s firing off mean tweets and cashing unemployment checks.

Less than two weeks after saying “Why would I leave for someone who hasn’t put a single second into this program yet?” Tate Martell’s name is in the NCAA transfer database. https://t.co/L7NFm1IyS1 pic.twitter.com/jCcGyMSm5Z

— Yahoo Sports College Football (@YahooSportsCFB) January 10, 2019

Still, in reality, that’s really not that much turnover for a college football program. Martell had the same coach and the same offensive coordinator—who was also his position coach—for two years. The coach left and was replaced by said coordinator.

It’s impossible for a player to have more familiarity with his new head coach, two years in, than what Martell has with Day.

Compare that to what happens every year at Alabama. 

For that matter, compare that to basically every head coaching change that has taken place over the past couple of months other than Ohio State.

If Martell wins this petition, essentially every player in the country whose program replaces its head coach should also be able to transfer elsewhere and play immediately.

Most—though not all—would count that development as a positive, student-athlete-friendly move. Good or bad, it’d be nothing if not groundbreaking.