SE: Martinez Found What He was Looking For at K-State

By: D. Scott Fritchen

Without yet throwing a pass in a Kansas State uniform, Adrian Martinez is about to become the second-most famous football player in Manhattan. Nobody will unseat Consensus All-American Deuce Vaughn as the most beloved player in the Little Apple. But there's no denying the eye candy that the graduate transfer quarterback from Nebraska brings to the Wildcats for the 2022 season.

Martinez is already pondering what could be one of the top quarterback-running back duos in the nation next fall.

"Shoot, Deuce is an All-American," Martinez said. "There are a lot of guys who'd love to play beside him. I'm really excited about what that can look like and what we can do together in an offense."

The 6-foot-2, 212-pound Martinez, during his first media appearance at the Vanier Family Football Complex on Wednesday, discussed the process of choosing to transfer to K-State, described his skills as a dual-threat passer, and lauded the opportunity to play for K-State head coach Chris Klieman and new offensive coordinator Collin Klein.

"I really do think I epitomize a dual-threat quarterback," Martinez said. "I feel strongly about my ability to throw the ball and run it. My running ability is definitely a part of my game. It's something I'm looking to do a little bit less here, in all honesty, but something that does provide a spark to the offensive side of the ball. I try to make plays.

"The next evolution of that is to make plays and turnover the ball less."

In all, Martinez holds 16 school records at Nebraska. There's the 10,792 career yards of total offense — a Nebraska all-time record. There's the 308.0 yards of total offense that he averaged in 2021 — also a Nebraska record. There are the 400-yard total offense games (5), 300-yard total offense games (18), and 250-yard passing games (16) — all records. Then there's the fact that he is one of three FBS quarterbacks with 7,000 career passing yards and 2,000 career rushing yards.

Martinez has completed 670 of 1,055 passes for 8,491 yards and 45 touchdowns and 30 interceptions in 39 career games. He also has 508 carries for 2,301 yards and 35 touchdowns on the ground. His 35 career rushing touchdowns ranked eighth among active FBS players and second among quarterbacks in 2021.

Last season, Martinez completed 61.8% of his passes for 2,863 yards and 14 touchdowns and 10 interceptions to go along with 525 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns. He also was the only player in the FBS with two rushes of 70-plus yards last season.

"He comes to work every day," said K-State linebacker Will Honas, who also transferred from Nebraska. "He's tough. He's a stud athlete. He's really just a good person and a good leader."

K-State fans will have to wait to see Martinez's abilities on the field. Klieman expects Martinez take limited reps in 7-on-7 drills during spring ball, which get underway on March 8 and will culminate with a final practice on April 16. Martinez continues to rehabilitate his right throwing shoulder, which he injured against Wisconsin last season, caused him to miss the final game of the season, and that required surgery on November 24.

Although Martinez is limited in the weight room, he did participate in running with his teammates on Wednesday, which Klieman said "excited him so that he could show the guys that he could compete."

Klieman is plenty excited about what Martinez brings to the table. He's the likely favorite to replace record-setter Skylar Thompson, the only player in K-State history with 6,000 career passing yards and 1,000 career rushing yards, and who finished a super senior career ranked in the top 10 all-time in 15 career categories.

"(Martinez) is going to command a room," Klieman said. "He's mature beyond his years and he's an older kid anyway, but he's mature. You guys are going to love the kid because he's here for the right reasons. He's here because he wants an opportunity to play. He hit it off with Coach Klein and myself. I'm just really excited because I've seen him compete. I didn't know him prior to the recruiting process but I've seen him compete.

"I know a lot of coaches up there (at Nebraska) that speak the world of him and he's going to be a really special person in our program."

It's been quite a journey for Martinez.

A native of Fresno, California, Martinez starred at Clovis West High School. He was ranked as the No. 56 player in the ESPN300 and the No. 4 pocket passer in the 2018 recruiting class. He received dozens of scholarship offers and chose Nebraska over Tennessee. He earned his degree in management last May. He was well known in the community. He volunteered for Make-a-Wish and visited local hospitals in Lincoln, Nebraska, during his career.

He was the first three-time team captain in Nebraska history. He broke his jaw in September. He couldn't play in his final game at Nebraska. He entered the NCAA's football transfer portal on December 2. He announced on December 16 that he was transferring to K-State ("Excited for the next chapter!! #GoCats" he wrote on Twitter). He will have one year of eligibility remaining. His girlfriend, Marisa Weichel, plays soccer at K-State.

Excited for the next chapter!! #GoCats pic.twitter.com/6wxYNbYgal
— Adrian Martinez (@MartinezTheQB) December 17, 2021

"The portal, if you will, was pretty hectic," Martinez said. "I wasn't looking for a school that was about the hype, and it wasn't strictly a personal decision. It was about business for me. One of my goals is to go to the NFL. In my mind, K-State gave me the best option to do that with a really good culture, a good program, a good team, and with good guys. It has an offense that I believe I can thrive in and show some skills that I haven't been able to display necessarily.

"There was a process of comparing different schools. K-State was at the top of every category for me."

Although Martinez will be limited in the spring, it hasn't stopped him from engraining himself in the Wildcats' offense under Klein. Martinez is a film hound and encourages wide receivers such as Malik Knowles, Phillip Brooks and Kade Warner to watch game tape with him. Martinez knows Klein's history as a finalist for the 2012 Heisman Trophy, saw the results of the TaxAct Texas Bowl offensive performance, and eagerly awaits the many ways that Klein plans to utilize his skills within the offense.

Martinez called the prospect of helping lead Klein's offense "a big factor for me."

"I loved my position coach at Nebraska, and I wanted a relationship similar to that wherever I was going to end up," he said. "I felt like Coach Klein could give me that in addition to being a really bright football coach. He had a tremendous amount of success here and he knows what it looks like to win here, and I can pick his brain 24-7."

Martinez said the K-State offense is "a lot more similar to NFL type schemes in the way that we go about things," adding that, "with Coach Collin at the head as offensive coordinator, he's going to bring in some spread elements that I'm more used to from Nebraska. Maybe we'll mix in some tempo stuff. It'll complement the offense they have."

It doesn't hurt having one of college football's most dynamic playmakers in the backfield, either.

"The quarterback is one cog in the wheel of success or failure," Martinez said. "Without the surrounding cast, it means nothing. Deuce Vaughn, and the other guys on the offensive unit, and the coaches, it's really a system of people that results in success."

Although Martinez has been on campus less than two months, he is already feeling at home.

"It's the culture," he said. "For me, the coaches, the players, there's a real sense of camaraderie here and that's something I was looking for in the process of finding a new school. It's what I found here."

Kansas State University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Phillip Brooks

Malik Knowles

Skylar Thompson

Deuce Vaughn

Kade Warner

Related Videos