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Published Oct 1, 2020
Is there a battle at quarterback this October for Nebraska?
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Sean Callahan  •  InsideNebraska
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Nebraska's quarterback position appears to be very intriguing heading into the 2020 season, even though it's well-known junior Adrian Martinez will be the guy Week 1 vs. Ohio State.

With that said, the small taste we got of Luke McCaffrey late last season has piqued the interest of many.

Offensive coordinator Matt Lubick is in his first season at NU, but sees the Huskers situation at quarterback as a good problem to have.

“They are both playing at a high level,” Lubick said of Martinez and McCaffrey. “I don’t know if I look at it as pressure. I think they are both making each other better. We feel good about both guys right now, we really do.

"As a matter of fact, with (Matt) Masker and Logan (Smothers) playing really well too, we feel like we’ve got great depth at that position. They’ve both improved a ton, in just the understanding of what we are trying to teach them since I’ve been here. Their attitude has been great, they are as humble of quarterbacks as I’ve been around. They always want to give credit to other people, and they are team players. We feel really good about both of them.”

As for who is the starter is, Lubick didn't make any shocking statements on Thursday.

“Adrian is the starter as of today,” Lubick said. “Luke has done a great job. It’s a friendly competition, and competition makes both guys better. We’ve repped both of them with the ones, they both move the ball and they’ve both had great camps so far in the non-padded stuff. That evaluation is always ongoing.

"Adrian has improved though, and he’s going to be a better football player this year.”

Senior tight end Jack Stoll spoke on Martinez's improvement.

Stoll said Martinez has learned a lot over the last two years, and he expects to see a different looking player in 2020.

“Adrian has made great strides since he’s been here,” Stoll said. “He came in and was asked to be the starting quarterback at a young age. I think he’s grown in that role tremendously. I think the biggest thing for him is the understanding of the offense. That’s something he’s grown into.

"Obviously from last year, to two years ago, he has a lot better of an understanding. Even these extra few months, where we were uncertain whether we were going to have a season or not. He really spends a lot of time making sure he got the playbook down, and made sure he was prepared, and so did everybody else on the team.

"I think everyone has been growing through this time and using it as a time to just prepare for whatever was going to come. I think we kind of did a good job of getting used to these turbulent times and just pushing through it.”

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