Nebraska Football: Adrian Martinez will vie for Heisman Trophy in 2019

Nebraska football might have only won four games last year, but the hype is through the roof in year two under Scott Frost. A big part of that is because of Adrian Martinez, who has a good shot to win the Heisman Trophy in 2019.

Nebraska football fans weren’t sure what to expect when freshman quarterback Adrian Martinez won the starting gig last year. He was an unknown, but quickly showed Husker Nation what he could provide and that was both an ability to throw the ball and use his legs as a weapon.

That’s why in year two, the sky is the limit for the Nebraska quarterback.

The 2018 season saw Martinez throw for 2,617 yards, 17 touchdowns, and eight picks while rushing for 629 yards and eight scores with his legs. That’s quite the campaign for a freshman quarterback!

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A lot of sites have grouped Martinez in with the potential Heisman Trophy candidates this year and it’s not hard to see why. Back in February, 247Sports wrote about how Martinez had strong odds to win the coveted award, noting,

"Overall, Martinez was just the sixth freshman quarterback — true or redshirt — to average 200 passing yards and 50 rushing yards per game since 1990, joining Oregon’s Marcus Mariota (2012), Texas A&M’s Johnny Manziel (2012) and Ohio State’s J.T. Barrett (2014) as the only freshmen quarterbacks to reach those marks in the last decade. Martinez was also one of just four FBS quarterbacks — regardless of class — who averaged 225 passing yards and 50 rushing yards per game in 2018."

Looking at those names, Martinez has good company surrounding him, which elevates him to an even higher standard. His ability to run with the football definitely works in his favor, as the past several Heisman Trophy winning quarterbacks have had a knack for running with the football and that, in turn, helped their team rack up the victories.

That last sentence in the quoted section is quite impressive also. Yes, Martinez suffered from injuries in year one, but when he was on the field, he was effective. That particularly showed in the Huskers’ final month and a half of the season where Nebraska closed the year with a 4-2 record. In the two losses (at Ohio State and at Iowa), the Huskers took the game down to the wire and Martinez played a big part in that.

When it comes down to it, it’s hard to be named the best player in college football. Adrian Martinez will have a good year in 2019 (he should anyway), but it’s not like he won’t have stealthy competition vying for the sport’s biggest individual trophy.

Trevor Lawrence of Clemson, Tua Tagovailoa of Alabama, and Jalen Hurts of Oklahoma are all known quarterbacks in college football who will be ahead of Martinez in the Heisman odds to start the season. Those guys have earned that right too.

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What do you think, Nebraska fans? Will Adrian Martinez be battling for the Heisman near the end of the season?

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