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Husker QB Martinez 'recognizes moments,' a sign of his natural leadership style

Nobody who watched Adrian Martinez quarterback Nebraska as an 18-year-old freshman in 2018 would think of him as a showman.

Martinez dazzled at times with his play and he would throw in an occasional fist-pump or brief celebration after a big play, but by and large he operated very much the way quarterbacks coach Mario Verduzco preached: Never too high or too low during the course of the game. Celebration and frustration alike are only acceptable once the outcome is decided.

Martinez was typically calm, cool and collected even as a rookie in the Big Ten. He handled interactions with reporters and fans the same way, with an even-keeled maturity that belied the fact that he was doing this all for the first time.