Said it a few weeks ago and I'll reiterate it here: Taylor is going to end up on my (admittedly long) list of favorite Huskers.
People don't appreciate how banged up that kid was, playing in the Big 12 championship game against Oklahoma. (As a Freshman, no less.) Has TWO injuries that, alone, often sideline guys for substantial periods of time. So Taylor has a rough game, especially in the second half, and takes a bunch of bad sacks. Well...the truth is, he couldn't really run. He probably shouldn't have even been out there, but we simply had no other options.
A deluge of criticism follows, "deer in the headlights" claims. If that's me, I'd have a damn strong urge to say "listen, I was
significantly injured, and I gutted it out. So save it, ingrates." Taylor never said a single word. Just endured it, and hasn't done much since other than take exponential leaps in growth, decision making, and passing accuracy.
Some Nebraska players just seem to draw the ire of fans more than others. Like Jammal Lord was endlessly underappreciated in my opinion (another incredibly tough kid,) so it seems with Taylor. I admit to falling for the character fault claims his first year, which was folly because I witnessed none of those alleged events.
Taylor is a gamer. Pelini gets in his face at
A@M, and everyone nationally makes a big deal out of it, but Martinez doesn't sulk for a minute. I'm a huge Taylor Martinez fan.
For the record, I think he's better than Robinson right now, more consistent at this stage in his career, and there is no reason to think he won't continue to improve as he has.
Miller is a special athlete. He approaches rarified air in terms of athleticism, at least in the games I've watched. I'll still take Taylor 'cause I like the kid. I think he's got a ton of heart.