Nebraska Football: What Puts the "Magic" in Taylor Martinez?

The Nebraska Cornhuskers have seemingly found themselves a starting quarterback.  Finally, after years of sub-par quarterback play that has coincided with the nearly decade long slump that Nebraska football has found itself in, Shawn Watson and the Cornhusker offense have a young field general that looks like he could be a long-term answer.

I mean sure, the Huskers have had a couple good quarterbacks since Crouch. 

Zac Taylor was probably the best pure passing quarterback in Nebraska history, and Joe Ganz was a guy that we sorely missed last year.  Even Jamaal Lord, a guy who rushed for 1,000 yards in 2003, was probably a little better than he was given credit for, as most of us were used to watching Crouch take over games a year before Lord took over in 2002. 

But redshirt freshman quarterback Taylor Martinez undeniably brings a game-breaking element to an offense that hasn't had such an element at the quarterback position since 2001.

Frankly, it's still too early to tell whether Martinez is in fact the star quarterback we've all been waiting for since the days of the legendary Eric Crouch. 

Martinez has started only three games, shredding each of the three Swiss cheese defenses he has faced.  He has yet to face an elite defense, and very well might get swallowed by one such defense. 

But while the competition level has been unimpressive, Martinez showed this past weekend, in dismantling the Washington Huskies in a hostile Husky stadium, and rushing for his third consecutive 100-yard game and taking a step forward as a passer in doing so, that he is the best man to run Shawn Watson's show. 

I've been somewhat cautious about getting too excited about this kid (if you are a Nebraska fan, you know how hard it has been to temper your excitement), but the display he put on at Washington was good enough for me to label him "the answer." 

So, what makes Taylor Martinez so effective?

First off, the obvious: his speed.  Once Martinez gets out in the open, nobody is going to catch him.  And I mean nobody.  It's very rare to see at the quarterback position.

Martinez's ability to outrace a linebacker to the outside gives him a huge advantage when running the zone read (which I'll get to later).  The only guy at the position that could keep up with Martinez is Michigan's true sophomore sensation Denard Robinson, who runs a 4.32 40 and is having quite a season himself. 

Supposedly Jake Locker has also run a sub-4.4 in the 40, but it was quite apparent last week who the faster of the two was.  It's a different animal when you have all your pads on and football cleats instead of track spikes.  And while speed is important, it does very little for a guy if he doesn't have some agility. 

Martinez has ample agility, and once he escapes the pocket, he is a nightmare to tackle.  His juking style is very reminiscent of Eric Crouch in that he has a forward lean, uses head fakes very well, and doesn't lose speed when changing direction.

Many speedsters you see, however, are small and go down on first contact.  Not Martinez.  He doesn't have a ton of size for a quarterback (he is only 6'1", 205 pounds), but he has tremendous balance and is a guy you cannot bring down with an arm tackle. 

In each of his first three games, Martinez has been able to turn short gains or even losses into long touchdown runs because of a good second effort.  Any defense that wants to stop Martinez will have to, first and foremost, be very disciplined at tackling.

Beyond his physical abilities, Taylor Martinez has already shown possibly the most important attribute of a quarterback, an attribute that you don't often see in a freshman: coolness under pressure. 

This kid's veins are solid ice. 

Martinez was asked by Mike McNeill before the game if he was nervous.  Martinez replied, "You are more nervous than I am."  He also said in a postgame interview, "I don't get nervous, so they should probably stop asking me."  And Shawn Watson has repeatedly called his quarterback a "cool customer." 

Just coachspeak, right?  Ask the Washington Huskies. 

Martinez effectively ran the offense in a very loud and hostile Husky stadium, and was consistently calm and collected under pressure, something that was a big question mark coming into the game. 

The best example was on a 3rd-and-16 in the first quarter.  Washington had pulled within seven and was seemingly gaining the momentum.  Martinez had been sacked just a couple plays earlier.  He hiked the ball, confidently stood in the pocket, and delivered a perfect strike to wide out Niles Paul on a deep comeback route for a first down. 

The drive resulted in a touchdown.  That was a play that you don't often see made by a freshman.

Those four attributes all play a role in this attribute.  Shawn Watson's new favorite offensive scheme is the zone read, and with good reason.  Taylor Martinez runs the zone read with unparalleled effectiveness. 

Here's a simplified idea of how that works: Martinez has the option to hand the ball off or keep it.  He decides by reading the outside linebacker.  If the linebacker stays home, Martinez hands the ball off and Rex Burkhead or Roy Helu takes the ball up the middle for a nice gain (usually about 8-10 yards against Washington). If the linebacker bites on the handoff, Martinez pulls the ball and takes off. 

The reason this is so effective is because Martinez fakes the handoff extremely well.  There have been numerous occasions this season where even the camera is faked out, following Burkhead up the middle, only to realize that Martinez is already 5-10 yards downfield with the football. 

By the time the linebacker realizes who has the ball, he must take a deep angle to even have a chance at catching Martinez.  Usually the linebacker takes a bad angle and Martinez outruns him to the outside.  And if the wide receiver blocks the corner well enough, there is nobody but the safety to catch Martinez. 

Most of Martinez's long touchdown runs, including his 80-yarder against Washington on the first play of the third quarter (the longest run for a Nebraska quarterback since Crouch's 95-yarder against Missouri in 2001) were off the zone read fake. 

The bottom line is, it's extremely difficult to defend the zone read when run to perfection, and Martinez comes mighty close.

Possibly the most exciting thing of all is that Martinez is still only a redshirt freshman.  That means we will probably have him at least through the 2013 season, if not through 2014. 

Already an adequate passer (as we saw on that 3rd-and-16, he can make the tough throws when it counts), he still has two or three seasons to develop into a strong passer.  Martinez is mature and very coachable according to Watson, and he learns quickly.

While Martinez still has his occasional mistakes (fumbles have been the main problem, although he hasn't actually lost one yet, which is purely luck), he has shown a tremendous amount of promise and has provided a big spark for an offense that has sorely lacked a good running game since the days of Eric Crouch.  And Martinez has been very reminiscent of Crouch so far. 

Martinez has yet to be tested against a good defense, but so far, he's done nothing to suggest he won't continue to have success.  The three-headed monster of Martinez and "we-backs" (yes! the we-backs are back!) Roy Helu Jr. and Rex Burkhead will be tough for anybody to stop.  All three are threats to top 1,000 rushing yards this year. 

Because of Martinez, the Huskers are looking more and more like a championship contender.  So, is Martinez the best freshman quarterback in the history of Nebraska football?

No, not yet. 

Could he end the season with that label?  

He very possibly could. 

After all, he's the first Husker quarterback to run for 100 yards three straight games since Eric Crouch's senior season.  And he's looked like something truly special in doing so.  The Nebraska offense finally has an offensive identity, and it is coolly and confidently run by a redshirt freshman named "T-Magic."