There wasn't much need to quiet any opposing crowds in 2020.
Nebraska quarterback Adrian Martinez and his teammates spent the winter playing in empty stadiums during the Big Ten's COVID season, meaning the communication needed to drown out the noise and excel away from the friendly confines of Memorial Stadium wasn't at quite the same priority.
But the noise is set to return in 2021. The Huskers will play road games at Illinois, Oklahoma, Michigan State, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, with some of those destinations notoriously more rowdy than others.
And when the decibels get turned up in places like Norman and Madison, Martinez has to be the man to control the message when Nebraska's offense is on the field. With 14 career road games under his belt, Martinez has seen just about every scenario an opposing fan base can cook up.
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The biggest challenge in handling a noisy environment: "The biggest thing is communication. Communication between myself and the rest of the skill players, myself and the offensive line, making sure our calls are all on the same page," Martinez said. "Outside of that I think we have a pretty great environment ourselves (in Lincoln), so we’re used to playing in front of a lot of fans. That usually isn’t the issue. It’s just communicating, and communicating clearly."
It helps, Martinez said, that Nebraska has a solid system for signaling in plays from the sideline in its no-huddle attack. There are at least two people flashing a variety of hand signals before each play, as well as the stack of poster boards with photos on them to signify various formations and plays.
The best way to relay audibles: The work isn't done once the signals are in. Based on what he's seeing as he surveys the defense, Martinez can audible into a better play for the look NU's offense is getting. When the heat is bearing down, that's not as simple as just shouting out instructions.
"My usual method is just getting as close as I can and as quick as possible to each of those guys, right to left, left to right, and making sure they can all hear me, then getting some sort of confirmation that all our guys are on the same page," Martinez said.
The best way to quiet an opposing crowd:Â If all goes well, Nebraska will eventually hit the mute button on the opponent's fans. "Score a touchdown," Martinez said. "Simple as that."
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