Adrian Martinez goes long: The end at Nebraska, a fresh start at Kansas State

MANHATTAN, Kan. — Adrian Martinez could’ve picked a more secluded setting for the meeting. But when Collin Klein asked where they should go, the quarterback chose HopCat.

Klein, Kansas State’s offensive coordinator, had been recruiting in the Kansas City area on that Thursday in December. He was about to walk into a high school when he learned Martinez had just entered the transfer portal. Klein drove to Lincoln right away and agreed to dinner at a restaurant located a half-mile from Memorial Stadium.

Martinez walked in the door, with a sling on his right arm and a fresh start on his mind, and Nebraska fans noticed right away.

“People started standing and clapping,” Martinez said. “They were like, ‘Thank you for all that you’ve done.’”

Klein swears this is a true story. “He even signed a couple autographs,” the coach said. It was an oddly public venue for such a private, important conversation, but HopCat became Martinez’s office for meeting with recruiters. The free agent quarterback had nothing to hide.

Klein knew a little about Martinez. Four-year starter. Talented dual-threat player. During their two-hour meeting, he needed the other side of the story. Why hadn’t Nebraska achieved a turnaround? Why did Martinez deal with injuries, turnovers and close losses year after year? Klein poked and prodded at those questions, joking that it was a “background psych eval” over dinner. He started here: Tell me your story.

“I wanted to make sure that character, integrity and proper perspective were there, because that’s important,” Klein said. “You’re wondering: Who is this person? Is this worth pursuing? Once you get to know him and his maturity and his level of ownership, that made me feel really comfortable that, shoot, there’s some really good players in tough situations sometimes. He was able to walk me through some of the things he’d gone through and faced.”

What did Klein learn that night?

“You can tell there’s some mettle there, there ain’t no doubt,” he said. “Very high character. Very tough. Very focused. Very mature young man.”

They had plenty to unpack. Martinez was one of college football’s most productive and most confounding quarterbacks during his long Husker career. He owns the school’s career total offense record. He also owns 48 career turnovers. Kansas State offered a true reset for his final season, and he couldn’t be more grateful. Martinez is confident he’s in the right place at the right time, with a team that sets him up to finally thrive.

“New scenery, new opponents, new system, a new challenge,” he said. “It’s genuinely getting the absolute best out of me, because it demands it. If I give anything less, I won’t be successful here.”

Four years as the face of a college football program is one hell of an experience, one that few people can fully understand. And at a place like Nebraska, Martinez says, it entailed a lot. He loved that responsibility, as burdensome as it got, and still loves his alma mater. But after giving all he could, he needed something new.

“Being the guy, there’s a lot that comes with it,” he said. “And … it’s not for everyone.”

What Martinez meant to Nebraska depends on whom you ask. Plenty of fans appreciated him. More than a few are glad he’s gone. But teammates praised him as the ultimate leader. His former position coach, Mario Verduzco, calls him “a true and loyal friggin’ warrior in every sense of the word.” Head coach Scott Frost has said he “gave so much to this university.”

He was the kid they built it all around from Day 1. Martinez was offered hours after Frost officially got the job. He enrolled a month later and quickly convinced everyone he could be special. There were enough big plays and close calls in his Freshman All-America season to inspire genuine optimism that he and Frost’s offense were getting ready to light up the Big Ten. There’s not one college QB they would’ve traded him for going into 2019.

Too many things went wrong in that sophomore season. The Huskers lost five of their last six to finish 5-7. The offense got worse, not better. Martinez played through a knee injury and a torn labrum in his left shoulder, and he didn’t play with much confidence. He admits he started “doubting what was happening on the field.” Negativity from media and fans got to him.

“I really struggled with that my sophomore year,” he said. “Part of the problem was I didn’t feel like I had anyone to communicate that to. There’s not a lot of people who know what it’s like to go through that stuff, to be in that position.”

It’s tougher, too, when your family is 1,200 miles away in California. The 19-year-old had to mature and fight through it. Tony Martinez saw his son grow up quite a bit through that tumultuous learning process. When the people who revered you start questioning you, doubt inevitably creeps in. He had to learn to not take it too hard, to not let outside opinions dictate how he saw himself.

“Nebraska is a double-edged sword, right?” Tony Martinez said. “It’s such an awesome place to be and play, but you’re under a magnifying glass in respect to your play, who you are, where you’re going, what you’re doing, and I think that can be overwhelming.”

Adrian figured it would get easier when they started winning. The next two years were even rockier. The Huskers’ 2020 season was canceled and then revived. In their second game, a bad interception against Northwestern got him benched for Luke McCaffrey. He earned the starting job back within two games, held onto it and was proud of how he led during that bizarre 3-5 campaign.

“I fought through a lot to show myself that, yeah, I deserve to be here,” he said. “I believe in myself and I’m willing to do whatever it takes.”

He chose his words carefully and thoughtfully in press conferences and interviews throughout his time in Lincoln. He was accountable for his mistakes, maybe to a fault. He took the heat and wouldn’t deflect it. Frost frequently defended Martinez, citing his own experience in this same highly scrutinized position. Verduzco taught him that the quarterback is just a cog in the machine and can’t be the only thing making it run. But as the losses mounted, a hard question comes with the job: How much responsibility does a QB bear for a program’s 15-29 record?

Martinez is not interested in bashing anyone or burning bridges. He cares about his Nebraska teammates, coaches and friends. He cares about maintaining a good relationship with his former school. Now that he has some distance from the situation, though, he’s not afraid to share his perspective.

“If you look across the Big Ten, I don’t think any other team asked their quarterback to do as much as I had to do at Nebraska,” he said. “I think that’s just a fact.”

He’s right. Martinez’s 10,792 total yards ranked seventh-most in Big Ten history. His 1,563 total plays would’ve cracked the top 10, too, had Nebraska played a full season in 2020. Martinez had the third-most rushing touchdowns (35) and sixth-most rushing attempts (508) by any Big Ten quarterback since 2000. For the past three years, he had to power the Huskers’ run game.

In 2018, Devine Ozigbo’s 1,000-yard season helped take pressure off Martinez. But from 2019 through 2021, Husker running backs averaged a combined 94 rushing yards per game, a rate that ranked 121st nationally. Just one back surpassed 500 yards in a season. They struggled enough that they needed receiver Wan’Dale Robinson to line up at running back. When he got tired of it, he transferred to Kentucky and became a second-round draft pick.

“I don’t know if we ever found that consistency for three years to be able to run our basic run stuff and get good yardage out of it,” Martinez said.

When you can’t lean on that, you’re in trouble. No Power 5 quarterback was pressured on a higher percentage of dropbacks (45%) last season, according to Pro Football Focus. Nebraska lost 12 more scholarship receivers to the portal during his time there, making it tougher for the passing attack to develop a steady rhythm. For much of his career, it seemed Martinez needed to be great while the Huskers’ offense figured everything else out.

After upsetting the Huskers last season in his first game as head coach, Illinois’ Bret Bielema delivered a blunt assessment: “The only guy that really could beat us, we thought, was No. 2.”

Martinez loved having the ball and the game in his hands, but he knows “you can ride or die by that method.” All of those plays and all of those hits? They take a toll over the course of four quarters, four months, four years. There are too many moments the quarterback wishes he could have back. He played in 13 games in which the Huskers were tied or trailing by one score on their final possession. They went a baffling 0-13 in those games.

And then there were the turnovers. Thirty interceptions. Forty-three fumbles, 18 of them lost. No FBS passer had more over these past four seasons. It was a glaring problem, a brutal mix of poor decision-making and poor luck, that popped up in the most untimely ways. Although this Nebraska staff built up a strong defense over time, one that kept them in every game last season, its teams have been far too mistake-prone on offense (and special teams) to achieve sustained success.

“He did not lose for a lack of trying,” Tony Martinez said. “In fact, I think sometimes maybe he tried too hard because he knew the weight of the program was on him. They expected him to be something that he wasn’t or wasn’t prepared to be.”

While reflecting on his college career in an interview this spring, Martinez was asked which Nebraska games showed the kind of player he can be. Which ones would he want NFL scouts to see? He says that’s tough to say. He liked how he played against Illinois, Ohio State and Minnesota as a freshman. “Sophomore year, I’ve blocked that whole year out,” he said with a laugh. As he thought it through, he recognized the dilemma.

“There are a lot of inconsistent performances, if I’m being honest, from that four-year stretch,” he said. “I’d love to tell that NFL scout to watch the first half of this game or the second half of that game. But that’s not how football works.”

There is a more recent one he hopes they’ll watch: the 2021 Michigan State game. It’s proof of his toughness, his willingness to do anything for his team. He called it one of his favorites, which makes no sense unless you know the real story behind it.

Burning. That’s what it felt like. His head wasn’t ringing, so he wasn’t thinking concussion. All he knew was the burning sensation in his face wouldn’t stop. He couldn’t just walk it off.

First drive. Third-and-long. Martinez had run a QB draw up the middle. As a linebacker wrapped him up, Michigan State safety Xavier Henderson put his helmet right under Martinez’s chin and knocked him down. He lay on the Spartan Stadium grass, touching his right cheek and wondering what was wrong.

Martinez had broken his jaw. He didn’t know that when he reached the locker room. He remembers impatiently filling out paperwork, while still in full uniform, and wondering how quickly the X-ray could be done. The scans didn’t reveal much. He was absent for a half hour, missing just one offensive possession. Did he feel OK? No way. But he wasn’t missing another.

For the next two and half hours of that Saturday night, Nebraska played inspired. The defense was dominant, allowing 14 second-half yards on 15 plays. For Martinez, the adrenaline overpowered the pain and swelling. He scrambled for 45 yards on his first rush after going back in. He would run 10 more times, scoring twice, and put up 244 passing yards. He shook off six sacks and kept going. Midway through the fourth quarter, Martinez guided an 80-yard touchdown drive to go up 20-13.

But that’s not how people remember that night.

A horrific special teams error gifted the Spartans an easy punt return touchdown in the final minutes to tie it up. In overtime, Martinez tried hitting a slant on third down and was picked off. Four plays later, it was over. A win might’ve been a season-changer. The Huskers were just as good as a Michigan State squad that went 11-2 … until they weren’t.

Two days later, a CT scan delivered the hard truth. Initially, there were two options: Martinez could undergo season-ending surgery or have his jaw wired shut and miss up to eight weeks. He and his family went back and forth on that decision. Then a third option emerged. Nebraska’s doctors consulted with experts at Mayo Clinic and Vanderbilt, he said, and came up with a plan to let him keep playing.

“I knew I wanted to play,” Martinez said. “It meant that much to me. My teammates, the program, us winning, all of that came to my mind with that decision. I couldn’t leave these people out to dry. I felt obligated to give them everything I had. Once that possibility was given to me, it was never really a question. It was more, ‘All right, how are we going to make this work?’”

Here’s how it worked: Six screws were twisted into his gums. Rubber bands were installed to protect his bite. He regrets not asking for more Lidocaine during the procedure. “It was brutal,” he said. “I could feel the pressure of them cranking the screws in.” When he showed up to practice wearing a helmet with an offensive line facemask, teammates were stunned.

Martinez couldn’t chew food and didn’t eat much that week. His girlfriend, Kansas State soccer player Marisa Weichel, drove up to take care of him. “I lost five or six pounds, my face was all swollen and I was calling her barely able to talk,” he said. “She was really worried about me.” He adjusted to an all-liquid diet before settling on a routine heavy on eggs and protein shakes. He tried blending a steak and consuming it like oatmeal. It was one of the worst things he’s ever eaten. He tried again, adding au jus and olives to the recipe. Didn’t help. But he had to keep his weight up.

Everyone agreed that, for Martinez’s safety, this had to stay a secret. Tony Martinez didn’t even tell his parents. “No one had to know,” he said. All of Adrian’s classes were online, so it wasn’t hard to lie low on campus. Rumors still emerged that week, and Frost, who does not discuss injuries with the media, sarcastically shot them down. “Ridiculous rumors. He probably has lupus and leprosy and smallpox and all these other things,” the head coach said. “He’s fine. He’s gonna play. He’s a heck of a player and a really tough guy.”

On his first play against Northwestern, Martinez hit a 70-yard pass to get the Huskers rolling. He ran for three touchdowns in the first quarter. He wasn’t supposed to run much, but Nebraska’s option game was clicking. If you watched that 56-7 blowout win, you couldn’t tell anything was wrong. He even took out the rubber bands before his press conferences to maintain the ruse.

Martinez understood the risk he was taking. It’s a physical, punishing game. Because the rubber bands needed to stay in, he didn’t wear a mouthpiece. He still had to play fearless. The next week, on an early red-zone carry against Michigan, a linebacker slammed right into his jaw and the burning returned. Nebraska ran him again on fourth down. He got stopped.

Those next five games were difficult. The Huskers came up short in a four-quarter fight with the No. 9 Wolverines that came down to a controversial Martinez fumble in the final minutes. He suffered a high-ankle sprain in practice a few days later from a collision with a defensive lineman. He still played against Minnesota but could only rush for 2 yards in the loss. His next game was his worst, a four-interception day against Purdue.

“He went through a lot,” backup quarterback Logan Smothers said, “and he was always calm under all of that.”

Tony Martinez admits watching those games, knowing what he knew, was “emotionally exhausting.” But his son didn’t make excuses and didn’t want excuses made for him.

“I wouldn’t have been willing to go through something like that if I didn’t feel like it was a necessary sacrifice for those around me,” Adrian said. “And that goes for the coaches, too. We were fighting for them, fighting for our guys. I felt like it was worth it.”

He played his heart out the next week against No. 5 Ohio State, another painfully close loss that clinched another losing season. When Martinez walked into the Husker weight room for the press conference afterward, a spokesperson approached him and informed him that Frost had just addressed his broken jaw. The secret was out.

Earlier that day, during the second quarter, Martinez was seen holding his ankle at the end of a run. Fox Sports’ Gus Johnson decided the timing was right to offer some context. “Folks, this kid has been through everything this season,” Johnson said. “He’s played with a broken jaw. He’s played with a high-ankle sprain.”

It’s not hard to deduce how Johnson learned that information, because it didn’t come from Martinez. He does believe there were honest intentions behind Frost sharing it to defend him and put his recent play in perspective.

“Coach Frost and I went through so much together,” Martinez said. “There were a lot of ups and downs. I definitely didn’t agree with the way that situation was handled.”

Nebraska still had two games left against Wisconsin and Iowa. That bothered Tony Martinez more than the broken trust. “It’s a medical condition that puts his safety at risk. Period,” he said. “He decided to play and now, basically, he’s got a target on him. It’s a safety concern. You’re telling them how to take out a player.” He chose not to discuss his concerns with Frost afterward.

“At that point, the damage is done,” he said. “What is there to talk about?”

Two days later, Frost fired Verduzco and three more offensive assistants and was granted another year. He made a comment that week, when asked about his QB room, that stood out. “It’s rare that you can find a game where you say, ‘Man, if you change that play, you win the game,’” Frost said. “We had five of those.” Martinez understood what that meant.

Verduzco declined to be interviewed for this story but wrote in a message to The Athletic, “No QB in the country could have endured what he did with commensurate grace and humility.”

Martinez played through yet another injury, a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder, in another dramatic loss to the Badgers. As he walked off the field at Camp Randall that night with Brody Belt, his roommate for all four years, he reflected on all he’d gone through and wondered if it was indeed his last game as a Husker.

“I think for the sake of the program and himself and Coach Frost, it was the right move for everybody involved,” Tony Martinez said. “A lot went into it. Adrian did what was best for him. It’s probably the only selfish decision he’s made.”

The difference at Kansas State was obvious right away. The culture inside the program? Strong from the top down. Discipline and core values embedded in everything they do. Coaches, strength staff, trainers, nutritionists and everyone else pulling in the same direction. Players seriously sold on the vision. It wasn’t hard for Martinez to see why they succeed.

“When I first stepped on campus here, it was like, all right, I’m bought in. Show me the way,” he said. “Because my way hasn’t worked, you know?”

The transfer process moved fast. Martinez entered the portal on Dec. 2 and had 10 days to take official visits. He didn’t publicize his offers. He didn’t do photo shoots on his trips. He didn’t need NIL money. What mattered to him: an opportunity to start, a staff that believes in him, a team he can fit in with, an offense that prepares him for the NFL. Five Big Ten programs pursued him, though he won’t reveal which ones. Respect from those coaches, after four years of competing, felt validating. But it’s also wiser to get out of the league where every coach knows your game.

Kansas State won out over Cal because it had everything he sought. The Wildcats won eight games in two of coach Chris Klieman’s first three seasons. They’re chasing a Big 12 title. There’s no hot-seat pressure here. This staff got quarterback Skylar Thompson drafted, as it did with Easton Stick and Carson Wentz at North Dakota State. They have an All-America playmaker at running back in Deuce Vaughn. They have ex-Husker teammates Kade Warner and Will Honas. And they have Klein taking the offense in exciting new directions.

“I just loved his maturity when he came here on a couple visits,” Klieman said. “I spent an awful lot of time with him. I knew the fit was as important to him as anything. Everything aligned right.”

Klieman wasn’t worried about the injured right shoulder. Kansas State’s staff was patient and didn’t need him ready for spring ball. Martinez had dealt with a torn labrum before, so he knew how long the post-surgery recovery takes. He was cleared to begin throwing in late March. Until then, he helped however he could. Teammates appreciated that he attended every winter passing workout just to snap balls to the QBs.

“He’s a dude who has a whole bunch of respect from me,” Vaughn said.

Martinez hit it off with Klein as well. The K-State legend and 2012 Heisman Trophy finalist is turning up the tempo on an offense that ranked last in the FBS in plays per game last season. One thing this program has long been known for: It doesn’t commit turnovers. Among Power 5 programs, only Alabama, LSU and Stanford have fewer turnovers than the Wildcats over the past decade. Klein produced 87 career touchdowns with just 15 interceptions. Thompson never threw more than five picks in a season. There’s a standard here, and the Wildcats’ new starter doesn’t have a history of playing up to it.

“I have not talked to him one time about that since he’s been here,” Klein said. “We emphasize it every day. We talk techniques and things that keep you from turning the football over. But you can’t play this position scared. You can’t be afraid to throw an interception. Do you know an interception could likely cost you the game? Absolutely. But you can hit a point where you’re overemphasizing it and it can really spike because you’re so paranoid, you’re so tense, you’re so afraid because the emphasis and scrutiny is being put on it.”

The new OC made no promises about the starting job during Martinez’s recruitment. K-State hasn’t whiffed with its quarterback recruiting. Will Howard has 10 career starts and promising backups behind him. Klein believes this is the Wildcats’ deepest QB room in a long time.

“But it doesn’t matter how many talented guys you have in that room. You need the one,” he said. “The right guy at the right time who does it, who wins, who leads, who gets it.”

If you change all the key pieces around Martinez, can he become the guy who gets the job done? Nebraska is essentially asking the same question of Frost this fall. Their seasons are inevitably intertwined, their respective successes or struggles delivering some sort of ultimate verdict on the previous four seasons, even if they shouldn’t. Martinez doesn’t see it that way. He’s still pulling for his guys there.

“We spent four years with Adrian and I love him, just a great human being,” Frost said in March. “I think he needed a fresh start. And I think we did too, if I’m being honest.”

Martinez’s complicated story has brought him to a simple conclusion. He just wants to win. He’d like to finally get to a bowl game. He knows what he must show to have a shot in the NFL. And he believes he’s better than how he’s been portrayed. Kansas State offers the best possible opportunity to prove it. As for the baggage back in Lincoln? He hopes he can leave it behind.

“This is a new experience,” Martinez said. “I don’t want to bring that stuff to the guys here: ‘Look at all the things I’ve been through.’ No. That’s not how I viewed coming into this situation.

“I’m here to create new memories, things that will be more positive.”

(Top photo courtesy of Kansas State Athletics)