Taylor Martinez Taylor Martinez ( born September 15 , 1990 ) is an American football quarterback who plays for the Nebraska Cornhuskers . High school career . Martinez played his senior year of high school football at Centennial High School in Corona , California , where he was a teammate of Vontaze Burfict and Will Sutton . At Centennial , he passed for over 3 , 000 yards , including 28 touchdowns with a 61 percent pass completion . Taylor also rushed for 750 yards with 12 touchdowns . Not only did Martinez receive multiple awards for his performance but led Centennial to a state championship win and a perfect season ( 15 - 0 ) . Centennial High School finished the 2007 season with a 13 - 2 record and ranked 24 by " USA Today " . The undefeated 2008 Huskies team won a California Interscholastic Federation state championship and finished the season ranked No . 2 in the nation by " USA Today " . Martinez committed to the University of Nebraska on August 22 , 2008 . Martinez wasn ' t heavily recruited by Football Bowl Subdivision schools as the only football scholarship offer he received to play quarterback was from Nebraska . College career . 2009 . During the 2009 season , Martinez was redshirted . 2010 . After a heated three - way position battle , Martinez emerged over sophomore Cody Green and senior Zac Lee for the majority of the 2010 season as the University of Nebraska ' s starting quarterback . In October , Martinez was named as a semi - finalist for the Davey O ' Brien Award . By early November , the Cornhusker signal caller had built up momentum off a 9 - 1 start where his offense had seven games of scoring 31 points or more . Three impressive performances by Martinez came on the road with games against Washington , Kansas State , and Oklahoma State . At the University of Washington on September 18 , the Corona , Calif . native busted an 80 yard touchown run on the Husky defense in a 56 - 21 Husker rout . Martinez finished with three touchdowns while rushing 19 times for 137 yards and completing 7 - of - 11 passes for 150 yards . However , T - Magic ' s performance against Kansas State on October 7 overshadowed his fine outing against Washington as Martinez went wild running 15 times for 241 yards and completing 5 - of - 7 passes for a lofty 128 yards which included a 79 yard touchdown pass to Kyler Reed in the third quarter . Martinez had touchdown runs of 14 , 35 , 80 , and 41 yards during the contest . Nebraska beat Kansas State , 48 - 13 . His 241 yards rushing set a school record for most rushing yards in a game by a quarterback and most rushing yards in a game by a freshman . T - Magic demonstrated accuracy with his passing skills on October 23 in a 51 - 41 shootout victory against the Oklahoma State Cowboys where the dual threat quarterback completed 23 - of - 35 passes for 323 yards that included five touchown passes with three of those going to wide receiver Brandon Kinnie for 45 , nine , and eight yards . Martinez ran 19 times for 112 yards in the contest at Stillwater , Oklahoma . In November , Martinez received the 2010 All - Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year award . The Cornhuskers reached the Big 12 Championship Game to face Oklahoma ( 12 - 2 , ranked No . 6 nationally in the AP College Football Poll by season ' s end ) on December 4 as they finished 6 - 2 in conference play and first place in the Big 12 North Division under the direction of head coach Bo Pelini . Unfortunately , a twisted ankle Martinez suffered back on October 30 in a 31 - 17 home win over Missouri wound up being a lingering injury . Oklahoma edged Nebraska , 23 - 20 , as Martinez struggled to get on track while completing 12 - of - 24 passes for 143 yards . The stout Sooners defense kept the Husker ground game in check as Nebraska managed just 145 yards off 43 rushes . Martinez finished the season completing 116 - of - 196 passing attempts for 1 , 631 yards with 10 touchdowns and seven interceptions in 13 games . The 6 - 1 , 205 - pound redshirt freshman ran 162 times for 965 yards while running forward and scoring 12 touchdowns . Nebraska went 10 - 4 and was ranked No . 19 and No . 20 by the Coaches and AP Polls respectively . 2011 . With a preseason No . 10 ranking for the veteran redshirt sophomore starting quarterback , Martinez responded with early season successes and a 7 - 1 start as the University of Nebraska joined the Big Ten for the first time in the school ' s history after the realignment of many conferences had changed the college football landscape — which began to take place during the summer of 2010 . After a 40 - 7 win at home on September 3 against overmatched Tennessee - Chattanooga , Martinez put together another fine effort against Fresno State in a game that was close . However , the thrilling end of the contest had T - Magic bolting 46 yards for a touchdown with 2 : 02 left that put the game out of reach , 42 - 29 . Martinez finished with 15 rushes for 169 yards and completed 10 - of - 21 passes for 219 yards and two touchdown passes against the Bulldogs . On October 1 , Martinez and Nebraska faced adversity as they had to travel to Madison , Wis . to face AP No . 7 nationally ranked Wisconsin and its talented quarterback , N . C . State transfer Russell Wilson . With 12 : 45 left to play in the 2nd quarter , Nebraska led 14 - 7 off 1 - yard touchdown runs by Martinez and Rex Burkhead . After that , it was all Wisconsin as Nebraska fell by the score of 48 - 17 . Wilson finished 14 - of - 20 passing for 255 yards with two touchdowns . Martinez had 20 rushes for 61 yards and completed 11 - of - 22 passes for 176 yards against the Badgers . However , Martinez and his teammates rebounded from the Wisconsin loss by recording the biggest comeback win in NU history as the Cornhuskers overcame a 27 - 6 deficit versus Ohio State . Linebacker Levonte David was the catalyst in the third quarter when he stripped the ball and recovered a fumble . Nebraska responded with 28 unanswered points as the biggest play of the game may have been Martinez ' screen pass to Burkhead as the 5 - 11 , 210 - pound running back raced 30 yards untouched into the end zone to tie the score at 27 - 27 with 7 : 35 left in the contest . Burkhead also scored the game ' s winning touchdown off a 17 yard run as Martinez finished the game completing 16 - of - 22 passes for 191 yards with two touchdowns while rushing for 102 yards off 17 carries against the Buckeyes . Martinez and Nebraska had their first experience in the Big Ten as they finished 5 - 3 in the conference . T - Magic ' s signature win came at home against nationally ranked No . 12 Michigan State ( 10 - 3 ) on October 29 as the Blackshirts went to work limiting the Spartans to 187 total yards . Nebraska won , 24 – 3 , and Martinez was safe going 7 - of - 13 passing the ball for 80 yards and rushing 12 times for 23 yards . He threw a 27 yard touchdown pass to Rex Burkhead in the third quarter against Michigan State . T - Magic ' s best performance throwing the football in 2011 came in a 28 - 25 loss to Northwestern on November 5 as he completed 28 - of - 37 passes for 289 yards without an interception . Nebraska had two lost fumbles that gave the Wildcats the advantage in this contest . Martinez threw touchdown passes of 15 and 14 yards to Tim Marlowe and Kenny Bell respectively . He had 53 rushing yards on 12 carries against Northwestern . Additional wins against big - name schools came against Penn State and Iowa . On November 12 , Nebraska defeated Penn State on the road , 17 - 14 , and Martinez completed 13 - of - 26 passes for 143 yards and ran 18 times for 56 yards as his teammate Burkhead totalled 121 rushing yards and two touchdowns . With the Hawkeyes on November 25 , Nebraska jumped out to a 10 - 0 lead at the half led by a Brett Mayer 40 yard field goal and Taylor Martinez ' 6 - yard touchdown pass to Kyler Reed in the second quarter . Nebraska won the grudge match , 20 - 7 , as Martinez completed 12 - of - 22 passes for 163 yards without an interception and ran four times for 20 yards . The 6 - 1 , 200 - pound redshirt sophomore led Nebraska to a 9 - 4 record as the Cornhuskers were nationally ranked No . 24 by the AP College Football Poll . Martinez ' s statistics for the season had him completing 162 - of - 288 passes for 2 , 089 yards with 13 touchdowns and eight interceptions . The spread option quarterback ran the ball 188 times for 874 rushing yards and scored nine touchdowns in 13 games . Martinez ' s Cornhuskers were invited to play the nationally ranked No . 10 South Carolina Gamecocks ( 10 - 2 ) in the Capital One - Citrus Bowl on January 2 , 2012 in Orlando , Florida . Nebraska lost the game , 30 - 13 . 2012 . Leading up to the 2012 season , Martinez was heavily criticized by fans and media for his awkward passing motion and tendency to turn the ball over . During the spring and summer of 2012 , Martinez spent time working on his throwing motion with Steve Calhoun , a private quarterback ' s coach that operates a football camp in California called " Armed and Dangerous . " Calhoun was known for his work with college quarterbacks , and had helped prepare some college quarterbacks for the NFL , including Cam Newton and Jake Locker . Nebraska fans were anxious to see a preview of Calhoun ' s work with Martinez during the 2012 Red / White Spring Football scrimmage , but the game was cancelled for the first time since 1950 due to a severe weather outbreak the day of the game . Although Martinez had only completed 56 % of his passes in 2011 , he was confident that his second season as quarterback for in Tim Beck ' s offense would be better . When asked if he had a completion rate goal for 2012 , Martinez responded " 70 percent or above . " Many fans and media scoffed at this comment in light of his previous completion percentages . The season opener against Southern Mississippi ended up being a showcase for Martinez ' s improvement over the spring and summer . Martinez went 26 / 34 passing with 5 TD ' s and 0 INT ' s and lead Huskers to a 49 - 20 win . His throwing motion improved and no longer appeared to be an issue . Martinez and the team struggled the following week in a 36 - 30 loss at unranked UCLA . Although Martinez threw an interception and no touchdowns , he had one of the game ' s best plays late in the 1st quarter when he ran for a 92 yard touchdown , the longest of his career . Nebraska won the next two games and then faced Wisconsin at home in the Big Ten opener , where both Adidas sponsored schools wore newly designed alternate uniforms for the first time . Nebraska had been blown out at Wisconsin in the Big Ten opener the year before , and was hoping to avenge that loss . Martinez had been brilliant as a passer to that point in the season , but Wisconsin defensive end David Gilbert wasn ' t convinced . When asked about Martinez ' s improvent , he said , " It still looks like he ’ s skipping rocks out there to me . . . He still can ’ t throw . I ’ m just going to say it . He still can ’ t throw . He ’ s not going to beat us with his arm . " Gilbert ' s comments did not concern Martinez . During the game , Wisconsin led by as many as 17 points in the 3rd quarter , but Martinez led scoring drives on 5 of Nebraska ' s last 6 possessions to take a 30 - 27 lead late in the 4th quarter — which ended up being the final score . Martinez accounted for all 4 of Nebraska ' s touchdowns , throwing for 2 and running for 2 more . The victory was Nebraska ' s 2nd largest comeback in school history , 2nd only to the 21 point comeback win against Ohio State the season before ( also featuring Martinez at QB ) . The Wisconsin game ended up being a preview of what was to come . After a 38 - 63 loss at 12th ranked Ohio State the following week , the Cornhuskers went on to win their next 6 games , including 3 more double digit comebacks in the second half . As it was in the Wisconsin game , Martinez played a very important role in all of the comebacks and delivered clutch performances . After two errant throws were dropped by Northwestern defenders , Martinez completed his next 10 passes on back - to - back scoring drives that gave Nebraska a 29 - 28 win at Northwestern . Martinez ' s best game of 2012 came at Michigan State on November 3rd . Michigan State was 5 - 4 heading into the game , but featured the best defense statistically in college football at that point in the season , including the best run defense in the Big Ten . Martinez had an outstanding day running the ball , and ended the day with the second best rushing performance of his career with 205 yards on 17 carries . Despite throwing 3 interceptions , Martinez was able to make clutch throws late in the game . Down by 3 with no timeouts and only 1 : 20 left , Martinez led an 80 yard drive that included a 38 yard completion to Kyler Reed on 4th and 10 at the Nebraska 40 yard line , and the game winning touchdown pass to sophomore WR Jamal Turner with : 06 seconds left . Martinez received Player of the Week honors in the Big Ten for his performance . During the game , Martinez passed former Heisman winner Eric Crouch as the all - time leader in total yardage at Nebraska . Martinez helped lead another comeback the following week against Penn State , where he rushed for 105 yards and threw for 171 more with 2 touchdowns and no interceptions . Martinez had another fine passing performance in the next game against Minnesota when he completed 72 % of his passes for 302 yards and 2 touchdowns with no interceptions . Nebraska finished the regular season at 10 - 2 , and headed to the Big Ten championship for a rematch with unranked , 7 - 5 Wisconsin . Nebraska was a 10 point favorite heading into the game . Just when Martinez and the Cornhuskers appeared poised to win their first conference title in more than a decade , their magical season came to a screeching halt in a historically bad defensive performance by the Cornhuskers . They were embarrassed by Wisconsin in a 70 - 31 loss . However , despite the loss Martinez still had one of the most incredible runs in college football history . Down 14 - 0 , Nebraska needed a spark . On 3rd and 11 from the Nebraska 23 yard - line , Martinez dropped back to pass . Wisconsin blitzed and Martinez had to scramble to get away . Soon the entire Wisconsin defensive line was pursuing Martinez , and Martinez went as far back as the Nebraska 6 yard - line , still searching for open receivers while dodging Wisconsin defenders . Nearly surrounded by Wisconsin defenders , Martinez somehow found a lane and took off . With a couple of nice blocks from downfield receivers , Martinez was able to weave his way to the endzone . The stat - line for the play shows it as a 76 yard run , but Martinez actually ran more than 100 yards on the play . After the loss , the Huskers went on to lose to # 7 ranked Georgia in the Capital One Bowl 45 - 31 . Martinez was proficient in the loss , throwing for 204 yards and 2 touchdowns , with 2 interceptions ( including a late - game desperation throw ) . The 2012 Cornhuskers finished the season at 10 - 4 and Nebraska was ranked No . 25 in the final AP Top 25 Poll . Martinez improved statistically , and had nearly 800 more passing yards , 10 more touchdowns , and a 6 % higher completion rate than the season before . He also rushed for more than 1 , 000 yards in a season for the first time in his career . Although he fell short of his 70 % completion goal , it was clear that he had improved his passing while still being a major threat running the ball . Martinez has already broken many QB records at Nebraska and heads into the 2013 season as one of the top dual threat QBs in the country . Many sports analysts believe that if he continues to work with Steve Calhoun to improve his passing game in the offseason , he could easily be a Heisman trophy candidate in 2013 barring injury .