Nebraska's Magic Man Too Much for Washington in Blowout Victory

SEATTLE -- Nebraska freshman quarterback Taylor Martinez hasn't always been known as "T-Magic."

Six years ago, his dad started calling him "Martinez Magic Time." Then it was shortened to "Martinez Magic," and that became "Magic" and then when he arrived at Nebraska, it became "T-Magic."

While his nickname has evolved through the years, his game is just getting started. And if his first three starts are any indication, there's a lot more magic ahead for the Cornhuskers.

In Martinez's first road start at Washington's Husky Stadium, a place former Nebraska coach Tom Osborne called the loudest opposing stadium he's coached in, Martinez rushed for 137 yards and three touchdowns and completed seven of 11 passes for 150 yards and one touchdown in the Huskers' 56-21 victory over the Huskies.

A lot was made all week about how Martinez, in only the third start of his career, would perform in his first college start away from Lincoln. In fact, Martinez has been hearing all those "will you be nervous?" questions since his first start.

"They started asking me before the first game," Martinez said. "I don't get nervous before a game, so the players stopped asking me. It didn't really bother me. I don't get scared or nervous at all."

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Martinez even has a calming effect on his coaches.

"I was not nervous because he settles me down," Nebraska offensive coordinator Shawn Watson said. "He says, 'just give me the ball and let me play.' I try to stay out of his way and give him the ball."

"I was not nervous because he settles me down. He says, 'just give me the ball and let me play.' I try to stay out of his way and give him the ball."
-- Nebraska offensive coordinator Shawn Watson And that's exactly what Nebraska did against Washington. In the first half, Martinez either ran or threw the ball on 16 consecutive plays. Then leading 28-14 to start the third quarter, Martinez killed any Washington comeback hopes, racing 80 yards for a touchdown.

Nebraska coach Bo Pelini said he's not surprised how well Martinez has performed so far.

"I think he's a pretty dynamic athlete, he still has a long way to go," Pelini said. "He still missed a number of things. The ceiling is still pretty high for him. That's why we went with him -- his ability. I think he can be a pretty special football player."

How special? Well, he's already accomplished something that some other pretty decent Nebraska quarterbacks -- such as Tommie Frazier, Eric Crouch, Turner Gill and Jerry Tagge -- didn't. Martinez became the first freshman quarterback to start a season opener in Nebraska's illustrious 121-year football history.

And then all Martinez did on his first carry was rip off a 46-yard touchdown run against Western Kentucky.

"I don't know if you can rattle the guy," Pelini said. "He has a quiet confidence. He's just going to go out and do his thing. He's not a real emotional guy, he's the same way all the time. What you see is what you get."

This is what Nebraska got in his first three starts. In the season opener against Western Kentucky, he had seven carries for 127 yards and three touchdowns. He was also 9 for 15 for 136 yards.

A week later against Idaho, Martinez rushed for 157 yards and two touchdowns and completed 12 of 17 for 106 yards.

And then his 287-yard, four touchdown day at Washington.

Through three games, Martinez is averaging 140 yards rushing a game. He is the nation's top running quarterback who bothers to tie his shoes. Only Michigan's Denard Robinson (186 yards per game) has more yards rushing among the nation's quarterbacks.

Saturday's game at Washington was a quasi-homecoming for Martinez, who played his high school ball in California. Martinez refused to answer how many West Coast teams recruited him as a quarterback out of high school.

"I don't feel like talking about that," he said.

Translation: zero.

But the California kid returned to the left coast and picked up where left off two years ago at Corona Centennial High. As a senior, he led Corona Centennial to a 15-0 record and a state championship and probably faced some tougher defenses in high school than the one he saw Saturday in Seattle.

During the second half, the public address announcer said the official attendance was 72,876, but that may have been Nebraska's total offense yardage. I'm not sure. Nebraska's offense, with Martinez at the controls, was that dominant.

While Martinez wouldn't elaborate on what it meant returning to the West Coast, his offensive coordinator knew what it meant.

"I'm sure it was very satisfying," Watson said. "There was a little purpose in his play being a West Coast kid. Every kid that lives in (a certain part of) the country, you want people to want you and they didn't. I'm glad he ended up with us. I'll tell you that."

On Wednesday, Martinez celebrated his 20th birthday. A lot has changed for him in the past three weeks since becoming Nebraska's starting quarterback. More people approach him at restaurants wanting his autograph, more people are texting him and, it seems, nearly the entire state of Nebraska is sending him a friend request on Facebook.

He said all of the added attention is "pretty cool sometimes, but sometimes it gets pretty annoying. It's fine.''

And so far, so is his game.

"I think it's going well," Martinez said. "I could probably do better, too. I'm only a freshman and I'm getting better every game."

That quote is definitely a scary thought for Big 12 defensive coordinators, but sophomore I-back Rex Burkhead said his teammates keep Martinez level headed as only teammates can.

"We give him little jokes about being the magic man," Burkhead said. "But he deserves (the attention). He's doing well. He refuses to be shut down."

In this day and age, it's never too early to start promoting a player for the Heisman. So is it too early to begin the "T-Magic H-Trophy" campaign?

"I wouldn't say so," Burkhead said. "He's a big play maker, I would definitely say you could put his name up there."

Following the game, when the press box elevator reached the bottom floor, a Washington security official watched Fiesta Bowl representative Andrew Bagnato walk past. She remarked to Bagnato: "I guess we won't see you again this year."

Nope, she won't. Martinez took care of that. But Bagnato might just run into the Huskers again in January -- as the Big 12 champions playing in his bowl game. Or Bagnato might see them even a week later at the BCS title game in Glendale, Ariz.

Who knows? Anything's possible with Martinez at quarterback, because it's looking more and more like this could be a magical season in Lincoln, Neb.

Brett McMurphy is a national college football writer for FanHouse. Contact him at brettmcmurphy@gmail.com or please follow at Twitter.com/BrettmcmurphY