Adrian Martinez Named Nebraska Starting QB over Luke McCaffrey vs. Ohio State

Adrian Martinez will start at quarterback when Nebraska opens its season against No. 5 Ohio State on Saturday, according to ESPN's Adam Rittenberg.

Martinez beat out redshirt freshman Luke McCaffrey, the brother of Carolina Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey, for the starting job.

Nebraska head coach Scott Frost said Monday that Martinez's experience—5,817 yards through 21 games—was the factor that made the ultimate decision, and that he feels as though the team has "two first-string quarterbacks." 

"If Luke had already been playing and we had the same camp, it probably would have been Luke," Frost said, per Rittenberg. "We feel we have the luxury of two starters."

After just two seasons, Martinez holds school records in 11 different statistical categories, including career 400-yard offense games (4), and freshman total offensive yards (3,246), passing yards (2,617), passing touchdowns (17) and total touchdowns (25). He also set records for single-season 300- and 400-yard games, with seven and three as a freshman in 2018. The California native was named a team captain for the second consecutive season on Monday.

After a standout freshman year, Martinez's production dipped ever so slightly in his sophomore campaign, with 149-of-251 passing, 10 touchdowns and nine interceptions for 1,956 yards compared to 224-of-347 passing with 17 scores, eight picks and 2,617 yards in his debut season.

Nebraska and the rest of the Big Ten open their season this weekend, months after voting to postpone fall seasons as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic back in August. Ohio State and Nebraska joined Iowa in initially voting to play, and Ohio State's team doctor, Dr. Jim Borchers, was a co-chair on the medical subcommittee of the league's return task force, per ESPN.