 Martinez in 2022 | |
| No. 15 –New York Jets | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Quarterback |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | (2000-01-07)January 7, 2000 (age 25) Hanford, California, U.S. |
| Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Weight: | 220 lb (100 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Clovis West (Clovis, California) |
| College: | Nebraska (2018–2021) Kansas State (2022) |
| NFL draft: | 2023: undrafted |
| Career history | |
| |
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |
| Roster status: | Active |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| Stats atPro Football Reference | |
Adrian Martinez (born January 7, 2000)[1] is an American professionalfootballquarterback for theNew York Jets of theNational Football League (NFL). He playedcollege football for theKansas State Wildcats andNebraska Cornhuskers. He also played for theBirmingham Stallions of theUnited Football League (UFL) in 2024, leading the league in rushing yards, as well as making the All-UFL team, earning season MVP, championship game MVP, and winning the 2024 UFL Championship.
Martinez was born on January 1, 2000 inHanford, California.[2] He attended theClovis West High School inFresno, California. He played both football and basketball in high school. He missed his senior season of football due to a torn labrum he suffered while playing basketball.[3] As a junior, he was theFresno Bee football player of the year after he passed for 2,562 yards with 25touchdowns and rushed for 1,462 yards and 14 touchdowns.[4]
Martinez was regarded as a four-star prospect and was the seventh-highest-rankeddual-threat quarterback in the class of 2018 according to the247Sports Composite.[5] Martinez originally committed to play college football at theUniversity of California, Berkeley and theUniversity of Tennessee before ultimately deciding on theUniversity of Nebraska.[6][7]
First-year Nebraska head coachScott Frost named Martinez the starting quarterback heading into the 2018 season opener, making him the first true freshman to ever begin a season as the starting quarterback at Nebraska.[8][9] In the Cornhuskers' opening game againstColorado, Martinez threw for 187 yards, one touchdown, and an interception, and added 117 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns on the ground. Nebraska lost the game 33–28.[10] Martinez went down with a knee injury in the final minutes of the Colorado game, an injury that also caused him to miss the following game againstTroy, which also ended in a loss for Nebraska. Martinez returned from injury but could not help the Cornhuskers return to winning form, as the team lost its first six games of the year for the worst start to a season in program history.[11] Martinez's first career win came againstMinnesota, where he threw for 276 yards and three passing touchdowns, and ran for another touchdown on the ground in the 53–28 victory.[12] He was named Big Ten Co-Freshman of the Week (withRondale Moore) for the performance.[13] Martinez earned two more Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors following a loss toOhio State on November 3 and a victory overIllinois on November 10.[14][15]
Martinez finished his freshman season with 2,617 passing yards, 17 passing touchdowns, and eight interceptions. He added 629 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns on the ground. He finished sixth in the Big Ten Conference in passing yards and total touchdowns, and was fourth in passer rating.[16]
Martinez received high expectations heading into his sophomore season in 2019, earning pre-season honors at Big Ten Media Days and even appearing inHeisman Trophy candidate discussions. However, he struggled mightily, leading Nebraska to a 5–7 record in a disappointing season.[17][18]
After a disappointing 2019 campaign and a Covid-19-impacted offseason, Martinez entered the 2020 season under pressure. In the opening game atOhio State, Martinez went 12-15 for 105 yards passing, and 85 yards and a touchdown on the ground.[19] After a lackluster performance in the week two loss atNorthwestern, head coachScott Frost decided to start redshirt freshman Luke McCaffery in the upcoming game vs.Penn State. Martinez would return to the field just one game later in the 4th quarter of theIllinois game, after McCaffery threw his third interception of the contest.[20] Martinez would remain the starter for the rest of the season, where he showed improvement from his first two starts. The final game of the season at Rutgers was his best game, where he completed 24 of 28 passes for 255 yards, 1 touchdown, 2 interceptions. In that game he also had an additional 181 rushing yards, with 2 rushing touchdowns.[21]
In seven games, Martinez finished his abbreviated junior season with 1,055 passing yards, 4 passing touchdowns, and three interceptions. He ran for 521 yards (5.7 AVG) and 7 rushing touchdowns.[22]
In 2021, Martinez played in 11 games for the Huskers, who went 3–9, becoming the first team in Division I college football history to lose 9 games by single digits. He completed 189 of 306 passes for 2,867 yards, 14 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.[23]
On December 2, 2021, Martinez entered the transfer portal with one year of eligibility remaining.[24]
On December 16, 2021, Martinez announced he would be transferring to Kansas State for his final year.[25]
In the 2022 season, Martinez split time at the quarterback position with Will Howard.[26] Martinez had 148 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns against Oklahoma and 171 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns against Texas Tech during the season.[27][28] Overall, in the 2022 season, Martinez had 1,261 passing yards, six passing touchdowns, and one interception to go with 111 carries for 627 rushing yards and ten rushing touchdowns.[29] The quarterback duo helped lead the Wildcats to a 10–4 record and a Big 12 Championship.[30][31]
| Season | Games | Passing | Rushing | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Record | Comp | Att | Pct | Yards | Avg | TD | Int | Rate | Att | Yards | Avg | TD | ||
| Nebraska Cornhuskers | ||||||||||||||||
| 2018 | 11 | 11 | 4−7 | 224 | 347 | 64.6 | 2,617 | 7.5 | 17 | 8 | 139.5 | 140 | 629 | 4.5 | 8 | |
| 2019 | 10 | 10 | 5−5 | 149 | 251 | 59.4 | 1,956 | 7.8 | 10 | 9 | 130.8 | 144 | 626 | 4.3 | 7 | |
| 2020 | 7 | 6 | 2−4 | 108 | 151 | 71.5 | 1,055 | 7.0 | 4 | 3 | 135.0 | 91 | 521 | 5.7 | 7 | |
| 2021 | 11 | 11 | 3−8 | 189 | 306 | 61.8 | 2,863 | 9.4 | 14 | 10 | 148.9 | 133 | 525 | 3.9 | 13 | |
| Kansas State Wildcats | ||||||||||||||||
| 2022 | 10 | 9 | 6−3 | 118 | 184 | 64.1 | 1,261 | 6.9 | 6 | 1 | 131.4 | 111 | 627 | 5.6 | 10 | |
| Career | 49 | 47 | 20−27 | 788 | 1,193 | 63.6 | 9,752 | 7.9 | 51 | 31 | 138.3 | 619 | 2,928 | 4.7 | 45 | |
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Vertical jump | Broad jump | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft1+7⁄8 in (1.88 m) | 221 lb (100 kg) | 31+1⁄4 in (0.79 m) | 9+5⁄8 in (0.24 m) | 4.55 s | 1.61 s | 2.70 s | 4.21 s | 36.0 in (0.91 m) | 9 ft 7 in (2.92 m) | |||
| All values from Kansas State'sPro Day[32][33] | ||||||||||||
Martinez was signed by theDetroit Lions as an undrafted free agent on May 12, 2023.[34] He was waived on August 29, 2023.[35]
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On December 24, 2023, Martinez was signed by theBirmingham Stallions of theUnited Football League (UFL).[36] He was named to the 2024 All-UFL team on June 5, 2024[37] and league MVP on June 10.[38] He was named the 2024 UFL Championship MVP on June 16, 2024.[39]
On July 27, 2024, Martinez was signed by theNew York Jets.[40] He was waived on August 27, and re-signed to the practice squad.[41][42] Martinez signed a reserve/future contract with the Jets on January 6, 2025.[43]
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| UFL MVP | |
| UFL Championship Game MVP | |
| Led the league | |
| League champion | |
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | League | Games | Passing | Rushing | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Record | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Y/A | TD | Int | Rtg | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | |||
| 2024 | BHAM | UFL | 10 | 7 | 6–1 | 134 | 229 | 58.5 | 1,748 | 7.6 | 15 | 3 | 99.0 | 54 | 528 | 9.7 | 3 |
| Career | 10 | 7 | 6–1 | 134 | 229 | 58.5 | 1,748 | 7.6 | 15 | 3 | 99.0 | 54 | 528 | 9.7 | 3 | ||
| Year | Team | League | Games | Passing | Rushing | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Record | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Y/A | TD | Int | Rtg | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | |||
| 2024 | BHAM | UFL | 2 | 2 | 2–0 | 23 | 42 | 54.7 | 262 | 6.2 | 2 | 1 | 79.5 | 15 | 60 | 4.0 | 2 |
| Career | 2 | 2 | 2–0 | 23 | 42 | 54.7 | 262 | 6.2 | 2 | 1 | 79.5 | 15 | 60 | 4.0 | 2 | ||
