Martinez has little to say, but talent speaks volumes

[Nexus]

 

 

LINCOLN — His teammates sometimes wonder about Taylor Martinez and what makes this young Nebraska quarterback tick.

 

Martinez certainly doesn’t tell them.

 

“He doesn’t talk much,” NU lineman Jeremiah Sirles said. “You’ll learn that real quick about Taylor.”

 

Even during his first game last Saturday it was hard for teammates to get a read on his emotions.

 

“He’s very collected, but he doesn’t show any emotion at all,” NU receiver Brandon Kinnie said. “I was like, ‘Are you going to smile, or you going to do anything to show that you’re happy?’ Real cool guy but very relaxed, very to himself.”

 

Casey Martinez understands. He was witnessing his son’s focus and displays of single-minded purpose long before the Huskers ever knew of Taylor Martinez.

 

Taylor has worked with Casey since age 8. Taylor’s confidence is partly the result of training all summer with his dad before little league seasons, then year-round once in high school.

 

It included position-specific training as well as lifting and intense running. The two of them would even train on the California hills or sand.

 

“His work ethic is just unbelievable,” Casey said. “And his attitude and his determination to be the best. ... I’ve never seen anything like it.

 

“He enjoyed training, and he was willing to do what it took. When he trained, he trained hard. He was willing to meet any task.”

 

Casey said Taylor grew up in a structured household, but it wasn’t as if the father was trying to create some kind of robo-athlete out of his son. There was always balance in his life. Taylor just had a love for football — and ultimately for playing quarterback.

 

“This is only his third year playing quarterback,” Casey said. “When he got that first taste his junior year (in high school), that is what his passion became.”

 

Taylor will make his second career start as a Husker on Saturday as Idaho visits for an 11:38 a.m. game at Memorial Stadium. The 6-foot-1, 195-pounder from Corona, Calif., made an impressive debut last week, completing 9 of 15 passes for 136 yards and rushing for 127 yards and three touchdowns against Western Kentucky.

 

NU offensive coordinator Shawn Watson said Martinez not only made plays but handled himself well for a redshirt freshman.

 

“I thought he was very poised,” Watson said. “You know, your first start in front of 86,000 fans, it can be an interesting venture. I thought Taylor was exceptionally poised and played a really competitive game, which is how we know him. I think he’s always been that way with us.”

 

Casey was glad to see it: He also tried to train his son mentally. His philosophy was always that making plays or keeping his composure in tough situations might separate Taylor from other players, so drills often came when the boy was nearing the point of exhaustion — and refused to quit.

 

“I’m sure he gets some butterflies, but very seldom gets rattled,” said Casey, who played junior college football and later set strength and conditioning records at Iowa State before his career was cut short by a knee injury. “And when he gets challenged, that’s when he’s at his best.”

 

The confidence Taylor brought to Lincoln, then, was anything but superficial. It had only grown stronger as he led Corona Centennial High to a 15-0 record his senior season.

 

If it ever rubbed his Nebraska teammates the wrong way, they also saw how fast he could run and how willing he was to work — at first as a receiver on the scout-team offense last season when he was redshirting.

 

“I think when you first come, older guys are always going to be like, ‘Who are you? What have you done?’” NU receiver Mike McNeill said. “But if you can back it up, then there’s nothing we can say. Being a fifth-year guy, I’ve seen a lot of guys come in and say, ‘I’m this good,’ or, ‘I’m going to do this or do that,’ and it hasn’t happened. But if you can back it up, you earn the respect of everyone pretty quickly.”

 

McNeill said Martinez’s level of faith in himself should serve him well.

 

“If he’s got a little swagger or a little cockiness, or however you want to say it, that’s fine with us,” McNeill said. “I definitely think the more confident you are the better you play. When you’re thinking or when you’re worrying or when you’re wondering, I don’t think you play at full speed and I don’t think you play as well.”

 

Teammates will continue to try to figure him out — as will opponents.

 

On the field, Martinez is fast and his arm is improving in his pursuit of becoming a complete quarterback.

 

Off the field, well, Sirles said he’s still not 100 percent sure what to think, although Martinez is growing on him since they came in together 15 months ago.

 

“When he first got here, he was kind of a different kid,” Sirles said. “I can’t really describe it. He came in here and he was just quiet. Even (Saturday), he never smiled. Just kind of the way he holds himself is different.

 

“But I really enjoy him. I think he’s going to become a great quarterback.”

 

Nebraska fans will want to unravel more of the Taylor Martinez mystery. Husker quarterbacks have a way of becoming the center of attention, whether they like it or not.

 

If Martinez maintains his position, Watson doesn’t expect the attention to change his quarterback, who turns 20 next week.

 

“That’s not him,” Watson said. “I think that he would really kind of like it all to go away, and everybody leave him alone and let him just do his thing. That’s just his makeup.”

 

Besides playing his first game last Saturday night, Martinez was thrown to the Nebraska news media for the first time afterward. A few minutes later, he was outside the Husker locker room signing some autographs and posing for a handful of pictures with fans.

 

Get used to all of it, kid.

 

“He was so focused on doing what he had to do to earn that starting position that I don’t think he ever had time to wonder what it would be like and would he be ready,” Casey said. “He just focuses on the game, and maybe hasn’t recognized the magnitude of that position in the state of Nebraska. But he’ll handle it well because he’s very humble.”

 

His bigger priority will be to continue doing the things that pushed him ahead of Cody Green and Zac Lee, the other quarterbacks who won’t be going away. And continuing to do what’s needed to improve.

 

All part of that purpose, that focus.

 

“I don’t think he had a sense of complete satisfaction after that (first) game,” Casey said. “I think he expected to do well, but he expects to do better as the season progresses.”

 

 

LINK

 

 

 

 

[huskernumerouno]

[bugeater17]

Bo defiantly needs to get T-mart in some public speaking classes... is it to late to drop/add??

[miamihrrcns2001]

He definitely seemed better this interview, more like a nice quiet kid less like a cocky QB... but he's so awkward it funny. I lol'd at the beginning of the interview and the end when he just awkwardly leaves. Funny kid though.

 

http://huskerextra.com/app/videos/#vmix_media_id=18262712

[Enhance]

He definitely seemed better this interview, more like a nice quiet kid less like a cocky QB... but he's so awkward it funny. I lol'd at the beginning of the interview and the end when he just awkwardly leaves. Funny kid though.

 

http://huskerextra.com/app/videos/#vmix_media_id=18262712

Haha it's more uncomfortable watching him do an interview than watching Bo do an interview.

[irieboy8]

i dont know i'd rather have leader who wasn't just the strong silent type kinda guy but who was passionate vocal and knew what he was thinking.... i think it supports more unity and team chemistry with the team.......

[miamihrrcns2001]

He definitely seemed better this interview, more like a nice quiet kid less like a cocky QB... but he's so awkward it funny. I lol'd at the beginning of the interview and the end when he just awkwardly leaves. Funny kid though.

 

http://huskerextra.com/app/videos/#vmix_media_id=18262712

Haha it's more uncomfortable watching him do an interview than watching Bo do an interview.

I can't wait for ESPN or Fox of someone to try and do one of those feature interviews on him where they show clips of it throughout the telecast... it will probably be the funniest thing on TV all year.