Adrian Martinez (American football)

Adrian Martinez (born January 7, 2000)[1] is an American football quarterback for the Nebraska Cornhuskers.

Adrian Martinez
Nebraska Cornhuskers – No. 2
PositionQuarterback
ClassJunior
MajorBusiness Administration
Career history
College
High schoolClovis West (Fresno, California)
Personal information
Born: (2000-01-07) January 7, 2000
Fresno, California
Height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight220 lb (100 kg)

Early years

Martinez attended the Clovis West High School in Fresno, California. He played both football and basketball in high school. He missed his senior season of football due to a torn labrum he suffered while playing basketball.[2] As a junior, he was the Fresno Bee football player of the year after he passed for 2,562 yards with 25 touchdowns and rushed for 1,462 yards and 14 touchdowns.[3]

Martinez was regarded as a four-star prospect and was the seventh-highest-ranked dual-threat quarterback in the class of 2018 according to the 247Sports Composite.[4] Martinez originally committed to play college football at the University of California, Berkeley and University of Tennessee before ultimately deciding on the University of Nebraska.[5][6]

College career

2018

First-year Nebraska head coach Scott Frost named Martinez the starting quarterback heading into the 2018 season opener, making him the first true freshman to ever begin a season as the starting quarterback at Nebraska.[7][8] In the Cornhuskers' opening game against Colorado, Martinez threw for 187 yards, one touchdown, and an interception, and added 117 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns on the ground. Nebraska lost the game 33–28.[9] Martinez went down with a knee injury in the final minutes of the Colorado game, an injury that also caused him to miss the following game against Troy, which also ended in a loss for Nebraska. Martinez returned from injury but could not help the Cornhuskers return to winning form, as the team lost its first six games of the year for the worst start to a season in program history.[10] Martinez's first career win came against Minnesota, where he threw for 276 yards and three passing touchdowns, and ran for another touchdown on the ground in the 53–28 victory.[11] He was named Big Ten Co-Freshman of the Week (with Rondale Moore) for the performance.[12] Martinez earned two more Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors following a loss to Ohio State on November 3 and a victory over Illinois on November 10.[13][14]

Martinez finished his freshman season with 2,617 passing yards, 17 passing touchdowns, and eight interceptions. He added 629 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns on the ground. He finished sixth in the Big Ten Conference in passing yards and total touchdowns, and was fourth in passer rating.[15]

2019

Martinez received high expectations heading into his sophomore season in 2019, earning pre-season honors at Big Ten Media Days and even appearing in Heisman Trophy candidate discussions. However, he struggled mightily, leading Nebraska to a 5-7 record in a disappointing season. [16][17]

References
  1. "Adrian Martinez - 2020 - Football". University of Nebraska.
  2. Galaviz, Anthony (April 6, 2017). "Clovis West QB Adrian Martinez, a top recruit, undergoes surgery for basketball injury". The Fresno Bee. McClatchy. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
  3. Boogaard, Andy (January 28, 2017). "Catch him if you can: Bee Football Player of the Year Adrian Martinez". The Fresno Bee. McClatchy. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
  4. "Adrian Martinez, Clovis West, Dual-Threat Quarterback". 247Sports.com. Retrieved September 28, 2019.
  5. Giannandrea, Nick (November 21, 2016). "Clovis West's Adrian Martinez makes college call – Cal Bears". The Fresno Bee. McClatchy. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
  6. McKewon, Sam (December 13, 2017). "Adrian Martinez becomes Scott Frost's first quarterback recruit; Dual-threat QB will enroll early at Nebraska". Omaha World-Herald. Berkshire Hathaway. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
  7. Sherman, Mitch (August 26, 2018). "Cornhuskers tab true freshman Adrian Martinez as starting QB". ESPN. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
  8. Bland, Evan (August 27, 2018). "Adrian Martinez won Nebraska's quarterback battle, but winning games will mean more". Omaha World-Herald. Berkshire Hathaway. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
  9. "Montez's late TD pass ruins Frost debut, gives CU 33-28 win". ESPN.com. Associated Press. September 8, 2018.
  10. "Nebraska sees 10-point lead slip away in OT loss to Northwestern". ESPN.com. Associated Press. October 13, 2019.
  11. "Huskers beat Minnesota 53-28 for 1st win under Scott Frost". ESPN.com. Associated Press. October 20, 2018.
  12. "Big Ten Players of the Week". BigTen.org. October 22, 2019.
  13. "Big Ten Players of the Week". BigTen.org. November 5, 2019.
  14. "Big Ten Players of the Week". BigTen.org. November 12, 2019.
  15. "2018 Big Ten Conference Year Summary". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved September 28, 2019.
  16. "Big Ten Announces Football Preseason Honors". BigTen.org. July 18, 2019.
  17. Hellman, Sam (February 27, 2019). "Adrian Martinez has strong Heisman Trophy odds". 247Sports.com.
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