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International Man of Mystery
Nebraska's Martinez enters senior season with plenty at stake
As a freshman in 2010, Martinez burst onto the scene as one of the nation's most exciting young quarterbacks. "T-Magic" quickly emerged as a dark horse Heisman candidate, and though he was hampered by ankle and toe issues late in the season, his future appeared bright. As a sophomore in 2011, his hype quickly began to fade. He adjusted his throwing motion to cope with lingering injuries, and his mechanics were blasted; "arm-punts", "shot-puts" and "groundballs" were some of the more common pejoratives used to describe his passing style. Martinez racked up 2,089 passing yards, 874 rushing yards and 22 touchdowns in his second-year campaign, but his completion rate dropped from 59.2 to 56.3 percent.
"He played with some injuries that would have sidelined most kids for the rest of the year," Casey Martinez, Taylor's father, said. "He hung in there, but when he was playing injured, he had to accommodate some of his mechanics in order to reduce the pain he had. It's hard to be perfect as a thrower when your limbs are hurting."
In 2012, Martinez turned in one of the most statistically significant seasons of any quarterback in the country, finishing first in the Big Ten in total offense while leading Nebraska to comeback wins over Wisconsin, Northwestern and Penn State. Yet the criticism never completely went away. Martinez still committed too many costly turnovers. His throwing motion -- while evincing considerable improvements thanks to offseason workouts with personal quarterback coach Steve Calhoun -- remained widely panned.
Entering 2013, Martinez is polarizing subject: His stats reveal a prolific dual-threat playmaker, but he's rarely mentioned among the top quarterbacks in the game.
As a freshman in 2010, Martinez burst onto the scene as one of the nation's most exciting young quarterbacks. "T-Magic" quickly emerged as a dark horse Heisman candidate, and though he was hampered by ankle and toe issues late in the season, his future appeared bright. As a sophomore in 2011, his hype quickly began to fade. He adjusted his throwing motion to cope with lingering injuries, and his mechanics were blasted; "arm-punts", "shot-puts" and "groundballs" were some of the more common pejoratives used to describe his passing style. Martinez racked up 2,089 passing yards, 874 rushing yards and 22 touchdowns in his second-year campaign, but his completion rate dropped from 59.2 to 56.3 percent.
"He played with some injuries that would have sidelined most kids for the rest of the year," Casey Martinez, Taylor's father, said. "He hung in there, but when he was playing injured, he had to accommodate some of his mechanics in order to reduce the pain he had. It's hard to be perfect as a thrower when your limbs are hurting."
In 2012, Martinez turned in one of the most statistically significant seasons of any quarterback in the country, finishing first in the Big Ten in total offense while leading Nebraska to comeback wins over Wisconsin, Northwestern and Penn State. Yet the criticism never completely went away. Martinez still committed too many costly turnovers. His throwing motion -- while evincing considerable improvements thanks to offseason workouts with personal quarterback coach Steve Calhoun -- remained widely panned.
Entering 2013, Martinez is polarizing subject: His stats reveal a prolific dual-threat playmaker, but he's rarely mentioned among the top quarterbacks in the game.
