LINCOLN — Rex Burkhead and Taylor Martinez began their careers at Nebraska 13 months ago, a pair of freshmen average in appearance whose looks belied their abilities.
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SOUTH DAKOTA STATE AT NEBRASKA
When: 6 p.m. Saturday
Where: Memorial Stadium
Records: SDSU 0-2; NU 3-0
TV: FSN pay-per-view
Radio: 1110 AM KFAB
By no means did they fly totally under the radar in football recruiting circles, but neither ranked among the most heralded nationally. Burkhead, a running back from Plano, Texas, failed to attract voluminous attention outside of his region. Martinez, of Corona, Calif., couldn't even get listed as a quarterback on the Huskers' official signing day press release in 2009.
But signs existed that perhaps NU had landed two unique players — despite the lack of measurables and mega recruiting hype.
Media in their own corners of the world had done their homework, with Burkhead named as the offensive player of the year by the Dallas Morning News, and Martinez tabbed southern California's best by the Los Angeles Times.
