As hype builds, Martinez staying focused on task at hand
Adrian Martinez sees the headlines and hears the hype. How could he not?
Nebraska’s sophomore quarterback not only broke onto the scene in record fashion last season as a true freshman, he has now elevated himself to become one of the early favorites to win the 2019 Heisman Trophy.
His poised and quietly confident demeanor should help him handle much of what comes with so much attention and expectation, but he admits that the level of national praise he’s already received going into his second season has been a bit unexpected.
“It’s humbling,” Martinez said. “Obviously, (the Heisman) is an award that you grow up knowing about. At the end of the day, that is not my primary focus. My primary focus is getting better each day and helping this team win more games, that’s what matters. Everything else will take care of itself.”
The Fresno, Calif., native completed 224-of-347 passes (64.6 percent) for 2,617 yards and 17 touchdowns with just eight interceptions while rushing for 629 more yards and eight scores. Had it not been for an ankle injury he suffered in the first game against Colorado that forced him to miss the following week vs. Troy and severely limited him at Michigan, those numbers would have been even better.
It was how well Martinez played at the end of the year, though, that really caught the attention of the national eye. His biggest stage came when he completed 22-of-33 passes for 266 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 72 yards and two more scores at No. 10 Ohio State.
Martinez was so good down the stretch that national media like Bruce Feldman of FOX Sports tweeted: “Adrian Martinez is such a stud. Kid is soooo impressive. Wouldn't be shocked if he won a Heisman there someday.”
Being the perfectionist he is, though, Martinez remains far more concerned with what he didn’t do in his first collegiate season than what he did.
“Obviously, my overall game needs to improve,” Martinez said. “Certain decisions I made in key situations, I would love to take back. That happened in a few different games and having that experience has allowed me to get better and better. Getting to look back on it, I can’t promise I won’t make a mistake, but I try not to make the same mistake twice.”
Head coach Scott Frost has made it no secret how excited he is about Martinez’s potential, raising the bar higher than anyone during a recent appearance on the Husker Sports Network.
"My hope is that when he leaves Nebraska, he's thought of as one of the all-time greats at the position,” Frost said in the interview. “In fact, I hope he's thought of as the greatest to ever play at Nebraska at that position."
For that to happen, though, the Huskers need to have the necessary level of team success to even put Martinez’s name in the discussion. That’s why Frost has challenged his second-year quarterback to take command of the locker room and be the vocal leader he knows Martinez can be.
“No. 1 thing is Adrian’s got to do is be the leader of the team,” Frost said. “He’s going to be whether he wants to or not, just because of the position he plays and how well he played last year. He can’t back into that. He’s got to take it on, accept it, and embrace it.
“He’s naturally going to be one of our leaders, but I want to see it go beyond that. I want to see him be the guy that’s setting the tone for the entire offense and the entire team. His play on the field is going to take care of itself. It’s hard to be a real leader as a true freshman, but it’s time for him to step into that role.”
Martinez immediately earned the respect of his teammates last year not only with his production on game day, but with how he carried himself on and off the field. A 19-year-old who is wise beyond his years, it’s not a stretch to say Nebraska could truly be Martinez’s team sooner than later, if it’s not already.
“I believe leadership is performance and performance is leadership,” Martinez said. “Obviously last year, I got to play under some things that I think I can do as a leader now that I couldn’t do at the beginning of last year. As last year went on, I kind of stepped more into that role, and this year I got to step more into that role.
“It’s validated in a sense that I got to become a leader, but I don’t want to change, and I haven’t changed the person I am because of last season or anything in that nature. I’m the same guy that I’ve always been.”