Martinez Named to Unitas Award Watch List

Football
8/19/2021 3:44:00 PM

NU Athletic Communications

Lincoln – Husker quarterback Adrian Martinez earned more preseason recognition on Thursday, as he was named to the 2021 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award watch list.

The Golden Arm Award annually recognizes the top senior or upperclassman quarterback set to graduate with their class. Martinez, who is a three-year starter at Nebraska, was named to the watch list for the second straight year. He will look to become NU’s second Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award winner, joining 1995 honoree Tommie Frazier.

Martinez comes off a shortened 2020 season where he completed 71.5 percent of his passes for 1,055 yards and four TDs, while rushing for a team-high 521 yards and seven scores. Martinez became the third player in program history to lead Nebraska in both rushing and passing in the same season and was the fourth Husker quarterback to lead NU in rushing. His 71.5 completion percentage ranked fifth in Big Ten history and was the fourth-best mark in a Big Ten Conference season.

Martinez, who set NU’s single-game completion percentage record by completing 18-of-20 passes against Iowa, finished his junior year by totaling 412 yards of total offense in the win over Rutgers. In that game, he completed 24-of-28 passes for 255 yards and one touchdown, and he rushed a career-high 23 times for a career-high 157 yards and two scores.

He enters the 2021 season with 13 school records, including NU’s career record for games with at least 400 yards of total offense (five).

The Huskers begin the 2021 season next Saturday, Aug. 28, when they travel to Illinois. Kickoff is set for Noon (central) and the matchup will be televised nationally on FOX and carried on the Huskers Radio Network across the state of Nebraska.