Inconsistent Nebraska QB Martinez still could join Husker greats

Cliff July 28, 2012 0

By CLIFF BRUNT
ISL Editor

Note: The editor grew up in Omaha, Neb. as a Nebraska Cornhuskers fan and now lives in Indianapolis.

Taylor Martinez drives you crazy.

One moment, Nebraska fans are cringing as they watch that awkward windup of a throwing motion yield another looping, fluttering pass that lands in the waiting hands of a defender.

The next, he’s gone. He strikes for a 50-yard, 60-yard or 80-yard touchdown run. Other times, he’ll drop in a perfectly placed deep pass for a game-changing touchdown. He can go from looking like a backup to one of Nebraska’s all-time greats in a matter of seconds.

He has it, just not all the time. You can’t hate him because he’s too talented. You can’t love him because he’s too mistake prone. And you know that if he doesn’t become more consistent, Nebraska will never be Nebraska as long as he’s the quarterback.

Husker fans, you’re spoiled. Most schools would love to have a talent like Martinez walking around campus. Yes, his throwing motion is unconventional. Yes, he makes mistakes. No, he hasn’t won a national title yet. But don’t throw him away quite yet. He’s talented enough to join the Mount Rushmore of great Nebraska quarterbacks – Jerry Tagge, Turner Gill, Tommie Frazier and Eric Crouch.

I understand how you feel. I’ve sat in the press box at Big Ten games while covering Purdue for the Associated Press. The consensus among media and coaches is that nobody is afraid of Nebraska’s passing game because they simply don’t believe Martinez can win with his arm. They respect the program but see its on-the-field leader as talented but flawed.

Part of this scrutiny is Martinez’ fault. If you recall, he burst onto the scene as a freshman with his deft execution of the zone read option play, posting huge numbers and even getting mention as a fringe Heisman candidate. He ran for more than 100 yards in four of his first five games, including 241 yards and four touchdowns against Kansas State.

He’s only rushed for more than 100 yards four times since.

Last season, his passer rating fell from 138.8 to 126.5 and he threw 10 touchdown passes and seven interceptions. He failed to run for more than 100 yards in any of his final seven games. As a freshman, he ran for 965 yards and 12 touchdowns while averaging 6.0 yards per carry. Last season, he ran for 874 yards and nine touchdowns with a 4.6 average.

Thankfully for Huskers fans, coach Bo Pelini believes Martinez is heading in the right direction.

“Well, my expectations for Taylor are high,” Pelini said at Big Ten Media Day. “I think he’s progressed. You look at where he was from my standpoint from when he started as a freshman to now, he’s only going into his junior year. And it seems like he’s been around forever.”

That’s the good thing about Martinez – he’s got time to right the ship.

“But he’s still – he’s just now becoming an upper classman, so I think his best football’s ahead of him,” Pelini said. “And I think he’s had a tremendous offseason. I’m glad he’s our quarterback. I’m looking forward to the year.”

The Nebraska fans I’ve talked to generally don’t like Martinez. Their standards are ridiculously high, but some of their reasons make sense. He is incredibly fast, but he avoids contact and lacks the toughness of a Frazier, Crouch or even Scott Frost or Gerry Gdowski. He has a decent arm, but lacks the accuracy of the previously mentioned quarterbacks.

He is most similar to Steve Taylor, who led the Huskers from 1986-88. He was supremely talented and fast and had arguably the best arm of all the Nebraska quarterbacks. He threw five touchdown passes in a memorable win over UCLA in 1987, winning a duel with Troy Aikman. But just as quickly, he could fire an option pitch to nothing but green grass or find the wrong team with an errant throw. He carried the ball around like a sack of potatoes, offering coaches a shining example of how not to protect the football. He was very good, but still left you feeling like he could have been even more.

That’s how Martinez makes you feel, too.

For Martinez to be among the elite, he has to do two things: lead Nebraska to a significant bowl win or a national title and reach the potential he has teased Huskers fans with the past two years.

Right now, Martinez sits below Tagge, Gill, Frazier and Crouch, and remains a notch below Frost, Gdowski and Taylor on the Nebraska quarterback pecking order. He’s about even with Joe Ganz and Keithen McCant. That’s not where he belongs. Not with all his talent.

Here is the good T-Magic: