Semi OT: Taylor Martinez
Hey with all of the Heisman talk that has been going on around here I thought I would go ahead and mention this guy. I have no idea why he isn't getting any love. Obviously I think Denard should be the front runner but ESPN seems to be ignoring this kid all together.
I have a good friend who is an N fan and because of that he and I watch both Michigan and Husker games together so I have watched this kid play all season. I have to say he runs the zone read better than anyone in the country and it isn't even close. He keeps the ball in the belly of the RB until the person he reads commits to him or the back and then he pulls it and bursts up the field with ridiculous speed. He is putting up ridiculous numbers as well.
He has a lot of work to do in the passing game but he is definately serviceable. Either way he is fun to watch and I suggest you take a look at him the next time N plays. He looks as fast if not faster than Denard and I would actually like to see these two race.
Anyone else seen this kid play? What are your thoughts?
October 13th, 2010 at 12:03 PM ^
I saw Taylor Martinez caught from behind against K-State when in full stride. Denard is so fast that he out runs his shadow.
October 13th, 2010 at 12:04 PM ^
I have only seen highlights on ESPN but I was also wondering why he was getting no love. His running ability is pretty good and I agree his passing is not bad either. Maybe after he continues to do well the next couple of weeks, he will get more attention.
October 13th, 2010 at 7:06 PM ^
October 13th, 2010 at 12:10 PM ^
Not of great size (6-1, 195) but is a very dangerous rusher. Still developing as a passer, but is only a redshirt freshman. May not be a heisman finalist this year, but the next few years will give big ten teams fits. Especially are beloved Wolverines.
October 13th, 2010 at 12:11 PM ^
he's good. Really good. He's going to be fun to watch next year.
October 13th, 2010 at 12:49 PM ^
October 13th, 2010 at 12:14 PM ^
Blasphemy. Also, his numbers don't compete with Denard's on the passing front (660 yards and 3 touchdowns), and he has less running yards (737), but he does have 2 more rushing touchdowns than Denard (12). To me, Martinez's numbers are not Heisman caliber, yet.
October 13th, 2010 at 12:36 PM ^
No one is faster than Denard. Shame on you for suggesting otherwise.
October 13th, 2010 at 2:04 PM ^
In all seriousness, there is no way he has more straight line speed than Denard. I'll take Denard in the 40 yard, 60 meter, or 100 meter, all day, every day. I will say, though, that I agree that Martinez's sleight of hand in running the read option is as good as I've ever seen. He runs it as well as Scott Frost or someone back in the day running the veer option or wishbone-- keeping the ball in the belly of the RB and even taking a couple steps with the ball in the belly of the RB before pulling it out. That's really, really difficult to defend.
October 13th, 2010 at 12:13 PM ^
No WAY that kid is as fast or faster than Denard. C'mon, man.
October 13th, 2010 at 12:14 PM ^
I think if Taylor goes off against Texas this week he'll get plenty of love. Also, keep in mind he's a freshman so no one knew anything about him before the year began. At least Denard had some electric plays last year that helped put him in the national media's minds to begin this year.
October 13th, 2010 at 12:16 PM ^
He's coming on strong, and if he continues to provide Denard-esque highlight reels he'll get a ton of attention. As others have mentioned, his stats are good, but not up with the other top contenders in either rushing or passing.
October 13th, 2010 at 12:26 PM ^
But he has also played 1 less game as N has already had their bye week. Also he has a lot of help from his RB Helu. That guy is sick too. I'm not saying he is better than Denard but he should be getting a lot more attention than he is.
October 13th, 2010 at 12:17 PM ^
October 13th, 2010 at 12:18 PM ^
He has the same nay sayers that DROB has. Those who say "who has he played yet." I can see him continuing his numbers now since defense is optional in the B12.
The only tough test NU will get will be OU in the B12 CG
October 13th, 2010 at 12:19 PM ^
(as they say in "the hangover") a reh-tard
October 13th, 2010 at 12:25 PM ^
Is the Dr. Philips of SoCal. Saw him play his only year there. He was awesome, as was Vontaze Burfict, now at ASU.
October 13th, 2010 at 12:27 PM ^
They really haven't played anybody yet, he put up big numbers against WKU and Idaho while struggling quite a bit against South Dakota State (under 100 rushing, 2 picks, team only put up 17 points).
If he has a big game against Texas this week, he'll start getting a lot more Heisman love (even if the Horns aren't all that good).
October 13th, 2010 at 2:04 PM ^
Yeah, those numbers against SDSU would cramp anyones heisman hopes for a while. He'll get some love if he can put up good numbers against the tougher big 12 teams.
October 14th, 2010 at 1:07 PM ^
Interesting comment, same could be said about DR & Michigan. Really neither team has had success against anyone special. We'll find out more about both players as the conference games get into gear.
I think they're both great, naturally you'll like your guy best and we'll like our guy the best.
To put Martinez in perspective, he's wowing Nebraska fans who are used to Eric Crouch, Tommie Frazier, Scott Frost, and Turner Gill--many of who's records he's already broken as a freshman. . Or this: Taylor has as as many rushing touchdowns through his first 5 games as a redshirt freshman quarterback as Vince Young--a pretty fair dual threat QB--had in 13 games as a fourth-year junior. None of those guys were great passers--they were just good enough to keep the defense honest, which is all you need. Nebraska just hasn't needed to pass much to roll so far, but I agree the jury is still out in that regard.
It will be a great game next year, Michigan will be a more complete team as the defense should be more up to Michigan standards.
October 13th, 2010 at 12:30 PM ^
He had a very average game against South Dakota St. 6/14 for 140 and 2 picks 13 rushes for 75 yards That is holding him back. He is a "wait and see" type right now. Personnally, I think that he is really good on really good football team. As for beating Denard.....Ummmmm Taylor is football fast..... Denard is dilithium fast..... I'll take Denard
Edit: Man beat me by a few seconds.....I'll just say that I took the time to look up his stats.....yeah that's what is was.....
October 13th, 2010 at 12:28 PM ^
One reason. Great rusher, one of the best rushing QB's I've seen, but his passing leaves much to be desired. He's no where even close to DRob in terms of passing ability. I had this conversation with a guy at work the other day (I live in Omaha) and he's scared to death what will happen when/if a good team shuts down the run on them (they way South Dakota St. did, who had a pick-six called back due to a penalty, and just didn't have the talent to do much on offense) and manages to get the lead that they will have pretty much no chance of coming back due to his lack of passing ability. Both he and DRob are in their 2nd year of college football and while Drob isn't the epitomy of what it is the be a great passer, he is light years ahead of Martinez.
October 13th, 2010 at 12:30 PM ^
Who will, no doubt, give us fits next year. Remember that he's just a freshman...
October 13th, 2010 at 12:40 PM ^
going to learn that the spread is dead and should only be implemented by mid major gimmicky programs? These big name teams like Oregon, Michigan, Nebraska, Auburn are clearly all behind the times.
October 13th, 2010 at 1:01 PM ^
I look at several sites (ESPN, SI, CBS, TSN) regularly and I've seen Mr. Martinez all over them. Not to a "Denard" degree, but he's getting plenty of attention.
October 13th, 2010 at 1:06 PM ^
Can't wait for the Robinson vs. Martinez match-up next year at the Big House.
Both are great athletes maturing into great quaterbacks.
October 13th, 2010 at 1:12 PM ^
I wasn't even thinking of that, they will be playing us next year. I watched Martinez almost single-handedly dismantle K-State a couple of weeks ago. This will be a good game, but it will be too fast to watch live.
October 13th, 2010 at 1:08 PM ^
If Martinez improves his passing as much as Denard has, he will be a bona fide contender for next year. I also see the same potential in Trey Burton at Florida, if Urban Meyer decides to ignore the alumni and make legacy John Brantley's job contingent on competition.
Denard and RR may be at the forefront of an accidental "movement" where the NCAA is a place where the best two-way athlete is the prototypical QB, and the 6-5, 230-pound, pro-style prototype QB suddenly finds himself with a lot less places to play.
When it all shakes down, there will still be plenty of schools doing both, but I think many college recruiters and coaches will start to give more chances to running QB's who can pass a little in the hopes that they can develop their passing just enough to keep defenses honest .
For now, though, it's great to see that there is only one Denard running around, and that he is wearing Maize and Blue.
October 13th, 2010 at 1:21 PM ^
Martinez is a great talent, but he cannot throw the ball consistently and the fact that Nebraska has such a dominant defense are reasons he has been overlooked somewhat (though his games against UW and K-State were national affairs, and various print publications have been high on him). I actually think that he benefits immensely from having an elite defense on the other side because (a) he can make mistakes or lead bad drives and the defense can bail him out, and (b) opposing defenses know that their offenses are probably going to struggle, so they will likely take more chances trying to slow down Martinez & Co., resulting in those long runs and open receivers as guys crash in.
October 13th, 2010 at 1:22 PM ^
Martinez is pretty awesome.
While I have to say that he's not as fast as Denard at full sprint, I do think Martinez accelerates quicker. He's at top speed the second he plants his foot and goes.
October 13th, 2010 at 2:30 PM ^
He seems to absolutely explode through the hole and is at full speed immediately. It is pretty impressive to watch.
October 13th, 2010 at 9:39 PM ^
Agreed, he has preternatural aceleration. Denard is definitely faster once he hits top speed but he takes awhile to get there and that hurt him against MSU. I think Taylor hits some of the holes in the MSU game and is gone before the DE can crash down or the LB can fill. On the other hand, Taylor would struggle to make a number of the passes Denard has made this year. I watched him against SDSU (grew up in South Dakota) and his passing was simply atrocious. If you guys think Denard had a bad day against MSU watch Taylor against FCS SDSU.
October 14th, 2010 at 3:01 PM ^
just never gets much better......:)
October 13th, 2010 at 2:00 PM ^
The guy is definitely fun to watch! It's hard to say how he'd stack up against Robinson until they play each other next year. Boy, won't that be a treat!
I think you're right about his pass game not being all there yet. Of course, Robinson is a year up on him in that department (even if DRob never started during his first year). And Husker fans would point out Denard's three interceptions this weekend. As for top speed, I don't think there's any way to tell who's faster on the field. But if we really wanted to, couldn't someone look up their sprint times and compare?
It's also interesting that this same discussion is going on right now on one of the Husker blogs, if anyone cares to take a gander at what the other side is saying.
October 13th, 2010 at 2:32 PM ^
could care less how fast someone is on a track it matters what you can do on the football field. Denard is obviously Dilithium and I am not saying he is not but I would say Martinez is very close to Dilithium. The guy can flat out fly.
October 13th, 2010 at 3:56 PM ^
Martinez is no Dilithium and is not even close. Jake Locker is closer and I wouldnt even consider him close.
October 13th, 2010 at 2:50 PM ^
Martinez is a RS Freshman, Robinson is a true sophomore. That means they're both in their second years, which means that DRob doesn't have a year advantage. The only advantage he has is playing in games occasionally last year, which is worth something I guess. But as far as being in their respective offensive systems, they have the same amount of time.
October 13th, 2010 at 2:15 PM ^
it sucks that he can make mistakes and his D can carry him. I wish Drob had that luxury.
October 13th, 2010 at 2:35 PM ^
He simply has not been asked to carry the load like Denard has. He's completed a total of 39 passes in five games, and has never rushed more than 19 times in a game.
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/player/profile?playerId=481547
October 13th, 2010 at 3:49 PM ^
Martinez's QB coach credits his ability to hit "top-speed" in just three strides. There's no way he's top-speed can match Denards, but apparently his acceleration is out of this world. The Texas D will be the most athletic unit he's faced yet. Should be interesting to watch how he reacts.
October 13th, 2010 at 3:55 PM ^
The reason i believe he is getting no hype Stats he has 737 rushing and 600 throwing. Compared to others he is 5th in the nation with a run heavy offense which is good but only 100th in the nation in passing. Im sure the media feels he's not duel threat enough.
On another note come big ten time I don't think he will be putting up nearly the same numbers. he doesnt have a very fast top speed but does have quick acceleration. He arm punts so bad and really needs to fix that motion his one passing touchdown vs KSU was pretty bad. I feel he is in the same mold as Pryor just not as gifted and his team will win lots of game because of defense and not offense.
October 13th, 2010 at 7:39 PM ^
He's a good runner, but he's not a great passer. Only 3 passing TDs and 3 INts.
October 13th, 2010 at 8:47 PM ^
This kid's gonna give me some headaches in the next few years.
October 13th, 2010 at 9:48 PM ^
I watched pretty much the entire K-State game. He did a very good job at running the zone read and really seemed to understand when to run or hand off based on what the defense presented.
He is actually faster than I thought. He is not close to Denard in speed, but I think the way that he understands the zone read actually helps him gain separation from defenders and may make him look faster? Either way, should be interesting when Nebraska comes to Big Ten and you get to see Martinez vs Denard.
GO BLUE!
Looking for a huge game from Denard, in particular the passing game. I think he will work out some of his kinks in practice and come in fired up, yet under control.
October 13th, 2010 at 9:48 PM ^
I watched pretty much the entire K-State game. He did a very good job at running the zone read and really seemed to understand when to run or hand off based on what the defense presented.
He is actually faster than I thought. He is not close to Denard in speed, but I think the way that he understands the zone read actually helps him gain separation from defenders and may make him look faster? Either way, should be interesting when Nebraska comes to Big Ten and you get to see Martinez vs Denard.
GO BLUE!
Looking for a huge game from Denard, in particular the passing game. I think he will work out some of his kinks in practice and come in fired up, yet under control.
October 14th, 2010 at 10:19 AM ^
He's going to be a pain to defend next year.