Big Ten Media Days: The Taylor Martinez Hype Train Rolls Right Along

Bo Pelini’s Big Ten media day session was uneventful. He did not smile for those placing bets on this rare occurrence, but he did speak very highly on the two key pieces of his offense in 2012.

Although running back/human bowling ball Rex Burkhead needs no further praising, Pelini went out of his way to do so.

“I wouldn’t trade him for another player in the country,” Pelini said in regards to his workhorse. “He’s lived up to everything we envisioned when he recruited him.”

The man who will be handing the ball to Burkhead is Taylor Martinez. His throwing motion has been wildly dissected over the past few seasons, and not in the “look how crisp the ball comes out of his hand” way. Seriously, just watch.

This offseason, however, Martinez has worked hard on his throwing motion. He spent time with California quarterback guru Steve Calhoun (who, in turn, passed along plenty of praise) and heads into the season with more praise from his head coach.

This means very little until we get to see the finished product—I mean, what is he supposed to say?—but it caps off an offseason of improvement for the junior QB.

“My expectations for Taylor are high,” Pelini said. “His best football is ahead of them, and he’s had a tremendous offseason.”

It’ll be interesting to see what this hype means in terms of results. I do believe Martinez will improve and that his experience over the past few seasons will help, but it might be asking a bit much to assume this progress will be monumental in nature.

Will you all the sudden want to teach your son to throw like Nebraska’s QB? No, not unless you’re Bo Pelini’s son or that guy who loves strange batting stances. But there could be some truth to this hype that has been building. Martinez could be poised to surprise many who have already given up on him.

Plus...this has to improve, right?

Adam Kramer is a Lead Writer for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained firsthand.