Nebraska Spring Game: Taylor Martinez Will Impress with Improved Mechanics

Taylor Martinez is changing.

The Nebraska quarterback, who has taken plenty of heat in the past for wavering somewhere in between futility and excellence, has spent the spring making sure that the product he puts on the field in 2012 will be his best yet.

Martinez's career with the Cornhuskers has been a series of severe ups and downs. He entered his redshirt freshman season as a quarterback to watch, but was hampered by toe and ankle injuries. He seems to be remembered most for some of the massive miscues he's made during his two-year career.

The biggest might have been a 2010 debacle at Texas A&M, when his No. 8 Cornhuskers had the chance to clinch the Big 12 North title but after being flagged 16 times for 145 yards, suffered a 9-6 loss. Martinez finished with 107 passing yards and one interception.

The quarterback's career fluctuated similarly in 2011. After a 4-0 start, he threw three picks in a 48-17 loss at Wisconsin and the next week,he brought Nebraska back from a 21-point halftime deficit against Ohio State, formulating to the biggest comeback in school history with a 34-27 win.

The area Martinez and quarterbacks guru Steve Calhoun are honing in on this spring in the hopes of helping him establish some consistency is his footwork. Though Martinez's throwing motion seems to be the area that needs the most improvement—ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg describes Martinez's somewhat awkward delivery as a "shot-put-like throwing motion"—Calhoun insists Martinez's problem starts with his first step toward the pocket.

Martinez told Rittenberg that, while working with Calhoun this spring, he found that if he stepped back with his left foot, his entire body would lean back, producing an awkward throwing motion. Keeping his shoulders even, he says, will help regulate his motion.

According to Cornhuskers head coach Bo Pelini, the work Martinez has been putting in this spring is paying off. He believes his quarterback, despite an up-and-down tenure, could be on his way to his most successful season yet.

He told Rittenberg: 

"

He's a better football player. He's a lot more comfortable. His technique's better, his fundamentals are better. And if that continues, he has a chance to really make big strides. 

"

Furthermore, Martinez is learning the secret to withstanding the pressure that comes with being the quarterback at Nebraska: staying focused and refusing to let the distractions bother him.

With his new footwork and his new mindset, the new Martinez on display this spring could be the one that lives up to his promise to bring a national title to Lincoln in 2012.