Nebraska Football: 5 takeaways from Cornhuskers’ 2018 season
By Dana Becker
4. Adrian Martinez will contend for the Heisman
Just months removed from playing in high school, Adrian Martinez was thrust into the starting quarterback role for Nebraska. And with that, came plenty of pressure to play like Scott Frost and lead the Huskers to the glory days of old.
Martinez, though, had some troubles, starting with the opener being called off due to weather. He performed well in a loss to Colorado, but was injured and missed the game vs. Troy. In a 56-10 defeat to Michigan, Martinez completed just seven passes for 22 yards and was held to negative-12 yards rushing.
He had good moments during the middle portion of the year, including a 384-yard passing performance vs. Wisconsin, but things definitely started picking up for Martinez and the offense with a win over Minnesota.
Martinez threw for 276 yards, ran for 125 and scored four touchdowns as Nebraska started a 4-2 run to finish the year. He had another big game in a loss to Ohio State with 266 yards passing and 72 yards rushing, putting up over 300 yards vs. Illinois and Iowa.
On the season, Martinez finished with 2,617 yards passing and 17 touchdowns, completing almost 65 percent of his throws. He also ran for 629 yards and had eight more scores, leaving much hope to the coming seasons for the Cornhuskers.