Tathan Martell grew up in the San Diego area, where he began playing Pop Warner football at the age of 7.

He even drew attention of the coach of the Washington Huskies at the time, Steve Sarkisian, whom Martell originally committed to play college football for.

[4] He attended Bishop Gorman to succeed the quarterback play of Randall Cunningham II for his sophomore, junior and senior seasons, but graduated from Desert Pines High School in Las Vegas because Bishop Gorman would not allow Martell to graduate early in order to start the spring semester at Ohio State University.

As a redshirt freshman in 2018, Martell battled for the starting role in spring camp but ultimately served as the backup to Dwayne Haskins.

[18] In January 2019, Georgia quarterback Justin Fields announced his intention to transfer to Ohio State,[19] prompting Martell to tweet, "Word of advice: don't swing and miss...especially not your second time.

"[20] Prior to this, on December 30, 2018—upon word that Fields was giving thought to transferring to Ohio State—Martell stated, "Why would I leave for someone who hasn't put in a single second into this program?

[22] Martell, who would normally have to sit out one year due to NCAA transfer rules, sought a hardship waiver in order to be immediately eligible, citing Ohio State's coaching change from Urban Meyer to Ryan Day.