Ex-Gopher Pete Martinsen to transfer to UCF

Six-foot-4 redshirt freshman Pete Martinsen, a former Minnesota Gopher quarterback, has been accepted at UCF and will walk on to the Golden Knights' football team in the fall. He will play for new head coach George O'Leary, who served as the Minnesota Vikings' defensive coordinator last season. Martinsen left the team in mid-December, leaving them with only Bryan Cupito, who redshirted in 2002 and did not complete a pass this season, as the only returning quarterback.

Pete Martinsen was a nominee for the Lou Groza High School Player of the Year award and was a Wendy’s High School Heisman candidate as a senior. Martinsen completed 120 of 231 passes for 1,764 yards and 17 touchdowns and rushed for five touchdowns. He was an Outback Bowl All-Star nominee and was named the Palm Beach Post Times Offensive Player of the Year and Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel Offensive Player of the Year in 2002.

Pete Martinsen Sr. told the Orlando Sentinel that his son is preparing to move to Orlando in time for summer school and is excited about the chance to play close to home and for George O'Leary.

Martinsen signed with Minnesota and left the Gophers following a redshirt season in 2003. He will be eligible at UCF in the 2005 season. He is 6 feet 4, 225 pounds and came out of high school with a reputation as a classic drop-back passer, which did not seem to fit Minnesota's option style.