We've seen Taylor Martinez make explosive plays with his feet.
Now it's only a matter of time before Nebraska's redshirted freshman quarterback begins firing with his arm, too, offensive coordinator Shawn Watson said.
"I'm telling you, man, this kid is as good a passer as I've ever been around," Watson said Tuesday. "Now, he had to develop the mental aspect of it, which has been a work in progress here. His hard work has put him in position. He's done that."
Martinez has averaged a mere 14 passing attempts per game -- largely because Nebraska hasn't needed to throw the football in three lopsided victories.
"I think as time goes on, we're going to need to do that, and you'll see his passing aspect come out, too," Watson said. "He's having to learn some of those things, like not waiting for receivers to get open, throwing on rhythm, throwing on time, trust your read."
But Martinez has a strong arm, senior wide receiver Mike McNeill said, and can nail most any throw.
"People are looking for some way to say, ‘Oh, he's not this good, he can't be this good, he can't take this team to where it needs to be.' But he can," McNeill said. "He can pass the ball. He hasn't had to yet."
Martinez proved Saturday at Washington he can deliver through the air when needed. He completed passes for first downs on third-and-14, third-and-16, third-and-6 and third-and-8. Brandon Kinnie caught three of those passes.
"He's got a quick delivery," Watson said. "He's impressed us so much with his quick, fast ball and his ball speed, his athleticism of getting it out."
Not bad for a guy head coach Bo Pelini penciled in at safety when Martinez arrived on campus in 2009. Even on scout team last year, Martinez only served as quarterback when Nebraska was preparing for a running quarterback.
"We were still in the ‘Where is he going to play at?'" Watson said. "We were really feeling it out, ‘Could he be a receiver, could he be a safety? Could he be a quarterback?' We were really moving him all over the place to find out where he best fit.
"After a while, we all said, ‘This is crazy, man. He fits where we're going, what we're doing. He fits us like a glove.'"
Questions still remained about Martinez throwing the ball. He'd thrown for 3,000 yards as a high school senior, but in a system that didn't emphasize down-the-field throws, so his arm strength might have been underestimated.
"His development (passing) has been huge," Watson said. "The kid has worked his tail end off."
In fact, Watson said Nebraska is running the same volume of passing offense as it did two years ago with Joe Ganz.
"We haven't had to put a lot of it out there on the field early in the year so far," Watson said. "That's partly by design, but when he throws it, you'll see what I'm talking about."
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