QB Race

[Husker Richard]

This is officially out of control

 

 

Haha, I'm loving it though. This whole situation has created a ridiculous amount of excitement for the opener.

[mmmtodd]

i think our #8 or whatever preseason ranking is more out of control than the fan created quarterback controversy. doesnt seem like there is much controversy from the team. What Bo has done by not naming the starter is making more and more sense every minute.

[zoogs]

i think our #8 or whatever preseason ranking is more out of control than the fan created quarterback controversy. doesnt seem like there is much controversy from the team. What Bo has done by not naming the starter is making more and more sense every minute.

 

I guess I would augment this slightly by saying there is always some degree of controversy within a team, but most of it never gets out and good teams just learn how to handle it. To assume that the locker room is all the way behind Taylor on this one would just be an assumption...but will it matter? Maybe, maybe not. I have no idea what the locker room is like personally so I won't presume to go there, but I don't think assuming best case scenario is something I would do. I'd like to, but I guess there's something about this particular scenario that just does not strike me as right - because I'm the most sunshiney guy about this program you'll ever see typically. I defended BC and Keller when they were here.

 

But...

 

Our #8 preseason ranking is way, way out of control. Unrelated to QBs, I always hope for the lowest STARTING ranking so that we can surpass it. It goes a long way in determining how the program is viewed by others on the national stage and in the media. It can also affect a team's psyche and performance, just by the kind of situation being #8 preseason is compared to being #20.

[bshirt]

more than alarmed? id be more than alarmed if one of our recruits under this regime couldnt beat out a starting junior college fill the gap transfer qb such as zac lee (who with injury that im frankly tired of hearing about, and Bo seems to be as well considering his missing the spring comment) that proved nothing more than the inability to put points on the board against big time competition.

 

Extremely well said, my kind sir.

[WCHusker]

Am I alone in thinking that T-Magic is one of the lamest nicknames ever?

 

No

[HuskerfaninOkieland]

Gentlemen, under all the circumstances, it is either fairly exhilarating or fairly alarming that T-Mag's gonna start.

People keep playing the nickname game with Martinez and we'll be referring to him as T-Bag

[TheCheshireCat]

The needle on the buzz-o-meter has pushed into the red area, and Taylor Martinez hasn't yet taken a snap. A young quarterback with blazing speed. A team in need of an offensive spark. A fan base with memories and dreams of option keepers and oxygen mask-seeking defenders. Throw in a nickname like "T-Magic," and Betty Crocker couldn't concoct a better recipe for hype.

 

What happens, then, when Martinez actually plays Saturday night against Western Kentucky?

And what if he starts?

 

Nebraska coach Bo Pelini declined Thursday to name his starting quarterback, saying the answer will come Saturday.

 

Zac Lee? Cody Green? Martinez?

 

Know this: No quarterback in Nebraska history has started the season's first game as a redshirted freshman.

Not Gill. Not Frazier. Not Crouch.

Maybe T-Magic?

 

"I don't know where he got the name from, and I don't know how it came about," wide receiver Niles Paul said, "but we call him T-Magic." Safety P.J. Smith doesn't know the nickname's origin, either. Not a clue. He said he doesn't think Martinez gave himself the nickname, noting Martinez is quiet, reserved and humble. But check out what Martinez writes to Husker fans on what appears to be his authentic Facebook page for fans:

 

T-Magic "The Uncanny Ability To Make Things Happen!"

3 Is A Magic Number

Martinez Magic

 

Not surprisingly, fans have responded with praise:

 

"Hey taylor i watched you in the spring game you were outstanding you were the best qb out there i believe you should be the starter this year you remind of tommy frazier"

 

"TMagic, how would (you) personally rank your Fall Camp? Strengths & Weaknesses."

 

"Hope you are kicking some butt in fall camp!"

 

"If Nebraska ... starts you you will win the Heisman Every Year you play you are the Definition of a man Good Luck this year."

 

"Starting QB this year man. Good luck."

 

A little much for someone who's never played? Perhaps. But Smith isn't scoffing at the accolades. Or the nickname. Not after seeing what Martinez did one day in practice. Smith described how Martinez dropped back to pass and barely eluded a pass rush. He broke free. Somebody hit him, and Martinez spun away. Then came a stiff arm. Then another hit, and another spin move.

 

"Actually, he spun twice, and the same time he was spinning, he was falling, and somehow, he kept his balance," Smith said. "We had a guy like two feet from him. ..."

 

Thirty yards later. ...

 

"That kid's amazing. Amazing. He flies around, he's fast. We'll be in coverage, and nobody's open, and next you know -- pshwoo! -- he'll just take off. And you're like, 'Aw, s--.' I mean, he's just gone."

 

Headache for a defensive coordinator, perhaps? "He's hell," Smith said. "You'll have to put a spy on him, but I don't even think a spy can hold him."

 

While Martinez turns heads with his speed, his improved passing throughout fall camp is what's kept him in the thick of the starting race.

The first week, Paul said, Martinez was rushing. "Then you saw him get comfortable back there with us and finally catch a rhythm back there with all the receivers," Paul said, "and he started putting the ball in places it was supposed to be."

 

Said Smith: "His passing got really better. He's throwing good balls. He'll squeeze a couple of balls here and there, and you're like, 'How the hell did he get in that in there?' "

Both Paul and Smith emphasized that Nebraska has three good quarterbacks, that any three are qualified to start. For now, only one is causing a fervor among Big Red.

We'll hear from Martinez in a couple of days, after he's played. Until then, he's off-limits to the media.

 

If you're wondering what he's thinking, there's this Facebook message from Martinez, posted Aug. 14 -- two days after his absence from practice (excused, Pelini said) created a stir:

"If you're trying to achieve, there will be roadblocks. I've had them; everybody has had them. But obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it." -- Michael Jordan

 

http://huskerextra.com/sports/football/article_f7c0e708-b6f6-11df-98b9-001cc4c002e0.html

[Enhance]

Am I alone in thinking that T-Magic is one of the lamest nicknames ever?

 

He gave it to himself

I'm 99.9% sure the players gave him that nickname.

[chamrocck]

I haven't weighed in on the QB race but if it is T-Magic I will not be that surprised. Lee and Green didn't exactly light it up last year...a lot of you have short memories. Yes I'd like to see Lee and Green improve but it is not that unlikely that Bo wants more of a runner at QB or at least to develop this as a threat...packages for Martinez will be part of the offense and the future with Carnes and Turner point to this as well. I won't be surprised if all QB's get multiple series in the first 2 games. Then see how it plays out for the UW game on the road...that will be nervous time for our offense so we better have it together by then. Maybe we go Tebow/Leak style this year...the end result worked out pretty well.

[JOEY]

I cant wait to see some of that T-Magic!

[BigWillie]

Am I alone in thinking that T-Magic is one of the lamest nicknames ever?

 

He gave it to himself

I'm 99.9% sure the players gave him that nickname.

 

Sadly, it's true. Taylor gave himself that name in HS, and other kids just followed in calling him it.

 

On another note, I read the article in the LJS where PJ Smith referred to Taylor as, "humble". Damm near fell out of my chair reading that. One thing Taylor does NOT lack is confidence in himself, and he isn't afraid to let people know. Will not be a bad thing, if he can back it up on the field.

[95huskers]

Gentlemen, under all the circumstances, it is either fairly exhilarating or fairly alarming that T-Mag's gonna start.

 

I am more than a little alarmed, personally.

 

Hang on for the ride, in either case. Bottoms up!

 

 

I agree with you that im alarmed as well. I feel that Lee should start. thats my opinion and i know many dont agree. Lee earned his position sustaining an injury and playing it out because he was still the best option for the team instead of going the surgery route. we all know he didnt put up big numbers. but that was due to to a very conservative scheme. Lee shouldnt be sitting due to injury last year. i dont know any sport where you lose your starting spot due to injury. Its bs imho. But what does that account for... nothing... I guess i want the best players out there but it seems that the offense wants to run option read all day long and we will see a ton of it saturday.

[schuhbdoo]

Gentlemen, under all the circumstances, it is either fairly exhilarating or fairly alarming that T-Mag's gonna start.

 

I am more than a little alarmed, personally.

 

Hang on for the ride, in either case. Bottoms up!

 

 

I agree with you that im alarmed as well. I feel that Lee should start. thats my opinion and i know many dont agree. Lee earned his position sustaining an injury and playing it out because he was still the best option for the team instead of going the surgery route. we all know he didnt put up big numbers. but that was due to to a very conservative scheme. Lee shouldnt be sitting due to injury last year. i dont know any sport where you lose your starting spot due to injury. Its bs imho. But what does that account for... nothing... I guess i want the best players out there but it seems that the offense wants to run option read all day long and we will see a ton of it saturday.

 

Check out how Tom Brady became a superstar NFL player. It was the injury to Drew Bledsoe that gave him his shot and he never gave it up.

 

Check out what happened to Trent Green with the Rams, got injury and Kurt Warner took the opportunity and Trent never got his job back from what I remembered. Kurt Warner goes on to have a potential hall of fame career. There is no unwritten rule that you can't lose your job in sports or business due to an injury. Happens all the time in sports and business.

[Minnesota_husker]

This just in.. your starting QB

 

ERIC MARTIN!

[JOEY]

People lose their job due to injury all the time in the NFL. Trent green lost his job to Kurt Warner after he got hurt in st. Louis and tom Drew Bledsoe lost his job to Tom Brady in New England, it happens all the time.

 

@ schuh.. you beat me to it man you used the same examples that I used I just looked up after typing this and saw your post =( lol