Nebraska quarterback Adrian Martinez was honored Monday as one of 32 players named to the Football Writers Association of America Freshman All-America Team. Martinez was one of two quarterbacks named to the team joining Clemson true freshman Trevor Lawrence.
Martinez ranks 12th nationally in total offensive yards per game (295.1), and leads all freshman in that category, while ranking fourth among freshmen in passing yards per game. Martinez averaged 237.9 passing yards per game and 57.2 rushing yards per game in 2018, becoming just the second FBS true freshman since 1990 to average 200 passing yards and 50 rushing yards per game and the first to hit those averages as a Power Five program.
Overall, Martinez was just the sixth freshman quarterback - true or redshirt - to average 200 passing yards and 50 rushing yards per game since 1990, joining Oregon's Marcus Mariota (2012), Texas A&M's Johnny Manziel (2012) and Ohio State's J.T. Barrett (2014) as the only freshmen quarterbacks to reach those marks in the last decade. Martinez was also one of just four FBS quarterbacks - regardless of class - who averaged 225 passing yards and 50 rushing yards per game in 2018.
Martinez rewrote Nebraska's freshman record book in 2018, and he also left his mark on the Huskers' overall season charts, including averaging a school-record 295.1 yards of total offense per game. Martinez completed 64.6 percent of his passes while throwing for 2,617 yards, ranking second in school history in completion percentage, sixth in completions (224), eighth in passing yards and 10th in passing touchdowns (17).
His dual-threat ability helped Martinez account for 3,246 yards of total offense, which was the fifth-highest total in Nebraska history in addition to averaging the most yards of total offense per game in program history. Martinez had a school-record seven 300-yard total offense games in 2018, including three 400-yard total offense games, tying the Nebraska season and career record in that category.
With Martinez leading the way, Nebraska averaged 456.2 yards per game in 2018, the program's highest total since 2012. The Husker offense totaled more than 500 yards of offense in five of Martinez's 11 starts, including four games with more than 560 yards of offense.
Martinez’s selection marks the second straight year Nebraska has had a player on the FWAA Freshman All-America team. Last season, wide receiver JD Spielman was named to the team as a redshirt freshman.