Taylor Martinez - Aug. 29th Press Conference

Nebraska Quarterback Taylor Martinez
On how anxious he is for the season opener
"I'm very anxious, and I think our team is very anxious because of what happened last year against Washington in the very last game. It should be fun. It should be an exciting year."

On how much more mature and confident he is in the new offense
"I feel great right now. I feel like I've grasped the offense a lot so far and hopefully it'll show on Saturday."

On if he's more comfortable with this year's offense than last year's offense
"Yeah. I've ran this offense before, and I'm kind of used to it. Before, I really never ran the offense in the previous year, so it was kind of like a new system, but I'm pretty used to this type of offense."

On if he's 100 percent healthy
"We'll find out on September 3rd."

On if he thinks they offense will feature the pass more this season
"I say it depends on how we go into the game plan. Depends what their defense is. We'll just go where their defense isn't. Like if they want to stop the running game, we might throw the ball."

On how he learns to recognize what the defense is doing
"Just by film study. By just watching the opponent's film and seeing what they're going to do based on what formation we're in."

On if he did that last year
"I did that stuff last year. Just last year I didn't really have the chance to audible that much."

On how it'll change his game
"This year, I think, we'll be a lot more balanced than just me trying to run the ball and Rex (Burkhead) trying to run the ball. I think I'll probably throw the ball a lot more than what I did last year. I think you'll see a different kind of me out there just because I think the offense is going to be different and you guys can see that on Saturday."

On being more in the rhythm of the game instead of having to sit back and think
"I think it'll help any quarterback that ran this type of offense. I think it's pretty much based on what I want to run. What type of play I want to run against the defense. Pretty much every decision is based on me."

On the receiving corps
"They're doing a great job so far. All the receivers, all the young guys are stepping up and a lot of the older guys are doing good too."

On how important it is to protect himself at times
"Just to be able to know when to fall or know when to get out of bounds."

On ball security
"As a unit, Coach [Tim] Beck and the other coaches have really emphasized ball security. I think it should be a lot better this year, hopefully."

On the team goals for this season
"I think as a team right now, we're really striving for a Big Ten championship. I think we're striving for the National Championship. So if we go to the National Championship, everything else will fall in place."

On if the team came up with those kind of goals over the summer
"Yeah."

On how he handles the criticism
"Pretty much try and ignore the media, and don't watch so much ESPN and what you guys put (out). I don't really read too much into it. I just play my game, come out there and try and compete."

On if he listened to the media too much last year
"A few times. Then after a while I just gave up and didn't even care anymore. I just turned on CMT or something and started watching that."

On how the younger quarterbacks have developed
"They've developed really well so far. I think were down to, I think, two or three quarterbacks (left): me, Brion Carnes and Ron Kellogg. And then Tyson [Broekemeier], he just got injured. Right now we're all doing pretty well."

On the weapon Jamal Turner is and how he can help out
"I think a lot of players on the offense right now, we're all capable of making big plays and hopefully a lot of the younger players can help us out and I think they will."

On if he's nervous with the right side of the line being all freshmen
"No. They're all doing a great job right now, and I think they'll all do an excellent job no matter who's in and the coaches will make the right decision."

On what people can expect from the offense
"For us to play fast and to come out there and show a different type of offense."

On what he tells his teammates who are playing their first game
"Just be ready. Don't really worry so much about the fans and just play your game."

On what he remembers about his first game
"That I was excited and anxious to get on the field and show what I have."

On his first carry going for a touchdown
"Man, that was exciting, especially with the whole stadium erupting like that. That was the first time I ever experienced something like that since I had never been to a Nebraska game before (coming here)."

On managing the offense and being a team leader
"I think if you grasp a lot of the offense and you have the players behind you, you pretty much can develop anything you want."

On when he started to become a team leader
"I don't know. Maybe because you guys kept criticizing me so much on leadership and stuff maybe (my coaches and teammates) came to realize that they need to speak out to you guys and speak out that I'm actually a leader."

On an increased tempo and if it's harder or easier as a quarterback
"I think it'll be a lot easier. Just to see what the defense is giving us. Last year, we were maybe getting out of the huddle with 12 second left on the play clock. It was hard for us to get out there and see what they were going to do with barely any time on the clock."

On what would be the ideal time on the play clock when getting to the line
"It's hard to say. Anywhere between 10 and 20 seconds."