Nebraska's Martinez turns heads in Red-White game

NUance

NUance

Assistant Coach
LINCOLN, Neb. -- A third man has emerged in the competition for starting quarterback at Nebraska.
Taylor Martinez was all the buzz during spring practice, and Saturday he showed why to the 77,936 fans who turned out at Memorial Stadium for the Red-White game.

The redshirt freshman threw for touchdowns on two of his first three series and rushed for a game-high 60 yards as his Red squad won 21-16.

Sophomore Cody Green led the White team to one touchdown and a field goal, passed for 155 yards and ran for 12.

Senior Zac Lee, the starter last season, was sidelined all spring after having surgery on his right (throwing) elbow.

Martinez appears well-suited for the direction the Cornhuskers want to take their offense. Offensive coordinator Shawn Watson plans to incorporate more quarterback runs, something the Huskers showed in the 33-0 Holiday Bowl win over Arizona.

Watson said Martinez is clearly the fastest quarterback and that it's only a matter of time before he hits the game field.

"We're not stupid," Watson said. "We're going to use talent. He's got talent. So we're going to use that talent."

Martinez completed 5 of 9 passes for 79 yards and had a tipped ball intercepted. He worked four full series in the first half before giving way to others.

His first two plays were designed runs, and he ran with confidence. Twice on his opening series he looked to pass, saw no one open and took off, the first time for 7 yards and the second for 10.

"I think you guys saw his speed," running back Rex Burkhead said. "He took control of the huddle and really ran with it."

The first time Martinez threw, he delivered the ball on a line to Tyler Legate for a 6-yard touchdown. He later hit Brandon Kinnie on a post pattern for 36 yards, with Kinnie dragging four defenders the last 5 yards to the end zone.

Martinez wasn't made available to reporters because coach Bo Pelini doesn't allow players who haven't been in a game to speak with the media.

"He's got a skill set that, honestly, you can't coach," Watson said. "He can put his foot in the dirt and just go. He's an instinctive runner. If something breaks down, he can make something big from it for us. And he's just getting better and better as a passer."

A couple long passes highlighted Green's day. He hit Niles Paul for 48 yards to set up a field goal. Two plays after he badly overthrew Mike Hays on a short sideline pass, he passed 72 yards for a touchdown to Will Henry.

Green said he was satisfied with his performance, but he believes the starting job is Lee's to lose.

"We all know that, just because he hasn't been here," Green said. "You've got to give him a chance to get in there and compete with us. This spring has really helped out everybody. You can see, we're all playing at a high level."

Watson said Lee will have to make up for lost time in preseason practices and that he can't assume he'll have an advantage over Green and Martinez because he started in 2009.

"He sees the young talent we have and what they bring to the table," Watson said. "Zac will bow up to it and compete. That's his nature."

Pelini said the play-calling would be basic, and that was the case except for two trick plays.

The Reds lined up in the wildcat formation, with Burkhead taking the direct snap. He threw quickly to cornerback-turned-receiver Prince Amukamara, who was engulfed by Pierre Allen and Terrence Moore for a 4-yard loss.

The White team's razzle-dazzle had a better outcome. Green threw a bounce-pass lateral toward the sideline to Mike McNeill, who fielded the ball and passed 31 yards to Paul.

"We gave each team a chance to make up a play of their own," Pelini said. "One worked, one didn't. We wanted to put Prince in there [on offense] and have a little fun with it."
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cbssportsline.com

 
Are you trying to cause a total CG Shipper© :wub: board meltdown???

Why don't you just wear a "I heart Halliburton" shirt to an anti-war protest!!!

Can't.....get.....worms.....back.....in.....can.....they're everywhere!!! Dammit Jim, I'm a doctor not worm wrangler!!!

 
:laughpound bonz quote

will any of the practice be shown on the net?

GBR

edit: just saw the thread by nexus with highlights SWEET

 
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I didn't see anything that tells me that Martinez is an equal passer to Green. Martinez had a couple of throws that he had no business in throwing (one was intercepted, and the other one should have), while Green wasn't lights out, he didn't do anything worse than what Lee was doing last year. He overthrew a couple of short passes, but both of them were in places that were only catchable by the offense.

Martinez is above Green as a runner, but Green is a better passer. I definitely like the possibilities of putting Martinez in the backfield with both Lee and/or Burkhead, but I wouldn't be comfortable with him as our starter. (Of course I'm not really confident in Green either, but he showed me more in the game today)

Paul was a man today. Kind of worried because Amukamara got burned a couple times (though it was only by Paul), so it's either Paul has really improved his game, or Amukamara was off today (I'll go with a combination of the two).

 
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whateveritis1224 said:
I didn't see anything that tells me that Martinez is an equal passer to Green. Martinez had a couple of throws that he had no business in throwing (one was intercepted, and the other one should have), while Green wasn't lights out, he didn't do anything worse than what Lee was doing last year. He overthrew a couple of short passes, but both of them were in places that were only catchable by the offense.

Martinez is above Green as a runner, but Green is a better passer. I definitely like the possibilities of putting Martinez in the backfield with both Lee and/or Burkhead, but I wouldn't be comfortable with him as our starter. (Of course I'm not really confident in Green either, but he showed me more in the game today)

Paul was a man today. Kind of worried because Amukamara got burned a couple times (though it was only by Paul), so it's either Paul has really improved his game, or Amukamara was off today (I'll go with a combination of the two).
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I was at the game, Section 35 and i have to agree with you completely. The QB situation, if anything didn't look very good at all. Each QB had a few sparks, but nothing that really stood out as a leader. I would saw Kody Spano had the best game, mostly in the 4th quarter. Martinez is fast, that much is for sure, but he is jumpy and quick to start running which might sound good to some, but to others its a negative if he doesn't make the right call to either hang in the pocket a bit more or run it. Cody Green, once again a few sparks, but his passing was off. I seem to remember one overthrown pass to Niles Paul, and then the next play he underthrew Niles Paul. Ron Kellogg? physically he looks pretty good at QB, just didn't make the right reads or smart decisions. One big let down in this game was Washington, seeing how good he was in the Spring game last year, i expected the same kind of play or maybe a bit better this time around, but i was wrong. His passing and decision making in the pocket seemed to have taken a sudden slide toward the gutter.

In my opinion, that was the only weak spot I saw from the Huskers today.

 
Personally, I think Martinez looked like he is as good or better of a passer than Green. He definitely outran Green today. I wouldn't at all be surprised if Martinez emerges as the starter come August.

 
missouri_husker24 said:
Personally, I think Martinez looked like he is as good or better of a passer than Green. He definitely outran Green today. I wouldn't at all be surprised if Martinez emerges as the starter come August.
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I walked away from the game feeling the same way, but after further review I think it's going to be very difficult for him to pull that off. That said, I was very impressed with his performance today. He definitely has the talent, but I think it will take time for him to get the system down/learn to manage an offense.

 
This is the last post I will ever post in response to the Green haters... His passing was dead on today and much better than any point last season..

 
iruletheskool said:
This is the last post I will ever post in response to the Green haters... His passing was dead on today and much better than any point last season..
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If you're saying Cody Green's passing was "dead on," I would say I do not share that opinion. He had some good passes, in particular the bomb to Henry for the TD, which was a nice-looking play. But he also threw a few that weren't so pretty, so I'd give him a B on his passing game, not an A and definitely not an A+. I saw some growth and some progression today from Green, but nothing that says, "He's going to start." And he knows that, so it's cool.

The most impressive player on either side of the ball was Taylor Martinez. Just one man's opinion.

 
iruletheskool said:
This is the last post I will ever post in response to the Green haters... His passing was dead on today and much better than any point last season..
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No one is hating on Green. I thought he looked a lot better with his throws this year, but (same as Martinez) there were some times where it was like "what was that?" From my opinion, Taylor was producing more consistently and he was moving the chains. Both are going to push Lee, but from what I saw it will still be Lee's job to lose. My opinion from today was that Taylor had the better day.

I think the real story here is Niles Paul. That dude looked amazing out there and he made some great catches. I knew he was good, but he seems like he is on a new level now and he really turned my head.

 
knapplc said:
iruletheskool said:
This is the last post I will ever post in response to the Green haters... His passing was dead on today and much better than any point last season..
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If you're saying Cody Green's passing was "dead on," I would say I do not share that opinion. He had some good passes, in particular the bomb to Henry for the TD, which was a nice-looking play. But he also threw a few that weren't so pretty, so I'd give him a B on his passing game, not an A and definitely not an A+. I saw some growth and some progression today from Green, but nothing that says, "He's going to start." And he knows that, so it's cool.

The most impressive player on either side of the ball was Taylor Martinez. Just one man's opinion.
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Agreed.

 
Martinez has the physical skill (minus one or two passes that weren't quite where they needed to be), just lacks the mental side of things right now.

 
I don't believe a guy should lose his starting job to injury, but unlike Zac Lee who looks awkward running the ball, Martinez by all accounts has some wheels. Advantage T-Mart.

In the end I think it's still Zac Lee's position to lose but isn't it fun to see a legitimate QB race taking place?

 
craigsker said:
In the end I think it's still Zac Lee's position to lose but isn't it fun to see a legitimate QB race taking place?
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In a way yes but hoping that guys with not a lot of experience will step up and be reliable makes me want to say no!

 
Green? Martinez? What about Ron Kellogg? The guy looked GREAT! Kellogg really made the most of the few plays he ran the offense. FEAR THE KELLOGG!!

 
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