Nebraska quarterbacks coach Mario Verduzco and offensive coordinator Troy Walters both uttered the same words regarding sophomore quarterback Adrian Martinez’s status for Saturday’s game against Indiana on Wednesday: “We’ll see.â€
Verduzco did say, though, that Martinez has practiced this week and that, “He’s doing well. He looks like his old self.â€
The veteran quarterbacks coach confirmed that the 6-foot-2, 225-pound Martinez is handling a bigger workload this week compared to last week.
“That’s fair. And he felt pretty good last week, but that’s a fair assumption,†Verduzco said.
Martinez is working back from an apparent left knee injury suffered on the last play of the third quarter Oct. 5 against Northwestern. For a right-handed quarterback, the left leg is the lead leg in the throwing motion, meaning Martinez must be able to stride through a throw and put weight on the injured side. Of course, a knee injury can also affect mobility, which is typically one of the Fresno, California, native’s strong suits.
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“It’s going to have more of an impact on whether a guy can really throw the ball on the move and on the move inside right, which is a big thing for us,†Verduzco said of an injury to the lead leg. “He did a nice job of that the day before yesterday and today, so there wasn’t any issues with it. And that’s usually the one that’s a pain. That’s tough.â€
Steve Sipple and Parker Gabriel give insights on quarterback Adrian Martinez and running back Maurice Washington after practice on Oct. 23, 2019.
Martinez missed just one game last season as a freshman after he suffered a right knee injury against Colorado in Nebraska’s season opener. After sitting against Troy, he played the first half of a blowout loss to Michigan. It is unclear if this year’s knee injury on the opposite leg is similar to last year’s, but Verduzco said Martinez’s ability to get back on track quickly has been similar.
“Same sort of thing. He seems to be a young guy that can heal pretty quickly,†Verduzco said. “I think most young guys are like that just in general, but it seems like he recovers from things fairly quickly.â€
On Tuesday, junior tight end Jack Stoll said Martinez was champing at the bit to get back to game ready.
“You can definitely tell he’s doing everything he can to be out there,†Stoll said. “… Whatever happens happens, but I just can’t wait to watch him go out there and attack.â€
“Yeah, he was like that last year, too,†Verduzco added. “He wants to play. He wants to go out there and help his teammates and he wants to get healed up as quickly as he possibly can.â€
If Martinez cannot play, Noah Vedral is the No. 2, but he’s been dealing with an injury of his own. Verduzco said Vedral practiced on Wednesday, but it’s not clear if the sophomore from Wahoo is healthy enough to play in a game, either.
After that, it would be freshman Luke McCaffrey, who has played a grand total of one snap this fall, in the fourth quarter against Northwestern when Vedral’s helmet popped off and he had to exit the game for a play.
Verduzco and the staff have liked McCaffrey’s progress all along. One thing Verduzco said Wednesday was that he didn’t think the Huskers would put a McCaffrey "package," so to speak, in a game plan. The athletic rookie will only play either because he has to or because a game gets out of hand.
“For us right now and the situation we’re in, battling from week to week and all that sort of stuff, unless there’s an issue where he has to be included, then probably not,†Verduzco said.
Time will tell if this is that week.
Offensive coordinator Troy Walters speaks after practice on Oct. 23, 2019.