Former Nebraska QB Adrian Martinez is everything K-State wanted

MANHATTAN — The day Adrian Martinez introduced that he was getting into the switch portal, Collin Klein jumped in his automobile and headed to Lincoln, Nebraska.

Martinez, a four-year starter at Nebraska, was in search of a brand new dwelling to complete his faculty soccer profession and Kansas State was available in the market for a veteran to bridge the hole between Skylar Thompson and a crop of promising youthful quarterbacks.

Whereas Klein may not have been a family identify in Lincoln, no one needed to inform Martinez about his credentials.

“Being an enormous faculty soccer fan, I used to be very a lot conscious of it,” Martinez stated of Klein’s prowess as a Okay-State quarterback a decade in the past, when he gained the 2012 Johnny Unitas Award and was a Heisman Trophy finalist. “The man was a tank, as I prefer to name it, again within the day.”

Extra:Nebraska switch Adrian Martinez will add a veteran presence at quarterback for Kansas State

That is why, when he arrived for a dinner with Klein at HopCat, a downtown Lincoln restaurant, Martinez was virtually embarrassed by the response.

“It was sort of humorous, as a result of I think about coach Klein to be a school soccer legend, and he was sort of incognito within the again, and after I walked in folks began standing and clapping for me,” Martinez stated with a smile. “And naturally, I’ll meet coach Klein they usually did not understand this man, a Heisman Trophy finalist, was simply sitting over there.

“I believe if anybody deserved some claps, it was in all probability him.”

Nonetheless, that preliminary December assembly between Martinez and Klein, who was then Okay-State’s performing offensive coordinator, went nicely. Each of them got here away equally impressed by the opposite.

“I believe the largest factor is he wasn’t a salesman,” Martinez stated of Klein’s recruiting pitch. “He was real, and he is been every part he stated he could be.

“He is true to who he says he’s and he reveals up every single day, constant. I noticed that after I first met him. He talked me by way of his offense and their plans for the longer term and I used to be actually excited.”

Klein, in flip, was instantly drawn to Martinez.

“I believe he is the entire bundle, I actually do,” Klein stated. “I have been very impressed along with his soccer data and soccer IQ, work ethic (and) degree of understanding.

“It has been slightly bit onerous, simply because he hasn’t been in a position to go and clearly do what he needs to do. However clearly he has nice bodily instruments to work with.”

Extra:4 issues to look at as Kansas State soccer gears up for spring follow

Martinez, who introduced his determination to hitch the Wildcats in mid-December, was restricted this spring whereas recovering from offseason shoulder surgical procedure. He has been cleared to throw underneath the supervision of Okay-State’s trainers, however not but in stay drills.

Klein, who was promoted to fulltime offensive coordinator following Okay-State’s 42-20 Texas Bowl victory over LSU in January, had seen sufficient recreation movie on Martinez to know his skillset was nicely fitted to the Wildcat offense. He owns the Nebraska profession information for whole offense with 10,792 yards, together with 8,491 passing with 45 touchdowns, plus 2,301 dashing and 35 extra scores.

At that first assembly in Lincoln, Klein was extra within the intangibles.

“Whenever you’re going by way of the recruiting technique of anybody, it is ensuring that it is the proper match,” Klein stated. “It does not matter the place they arrive from, who they’re, their story, their capacity or no matter. They must be the fitting match.

“They must be a personality match, a tradition match and a locker room match, after which clearly we clearly must fill in all these blanks earlier than we get too down the highway. That is what we needed to do, and he checked each a kind of bins.”

Extra:Former Nebraska QB Adrian Martinez headed to Kansas State: ‘Excited for the following chapter’

Because the Wildcats transition to summer time conditioning, Martinez is happy along with his bodily progress. Working with the coaching employees, he’s throwing 50-yard passes and hopes quickly to start 7-on-7 drills along with his teammates.

“It is what I like to do, so it was nice when that second lastly occurred and persevering with to progress and seeing that progress in myself is motivating,” Martinez stated. “It is what retains me going.

“Nevertheless it’s vital for me to remain affected person, and I belief coach (Chris) Klieman and coach Klein and Mindy (Hoffman), our coach, to have the fitting timing for me.”

Okay-State linebacker Will Honas, one other Nebraska graduate switch, has seen Martinez at his finest and does not suppose Wildcat followers can be upset.

“He is a very thrilling participant to look at,” Honas stated. “He is a particular athlete, and he can throw the ball very well and he can run the ball very well.

“You’ll be able to already see in follow that his motion is completely different from different gamers. He strikes at a unique velocity, and as soon as he is ready to throw once more, the ball comes off his hand very well, and I believe that can stand out.”

For his half, Martinez is happy with how the spring unfolded, even when he wasn’t in a position to reduce free along with his shoulder.

“Coach Klein, the opposite quarterbacks and myself, we have all put a number of work into it,” he stated, “and coach Klein has achieved an excellent job of discovering methods to get me reps and getting within the movie room, these kinds of issues, so I do not suppose I have been held again in any method.”

So far as attending to know his teammates, that has gone easily as nicely.

“I actually like this group of fellows and I am grateful that they have been so welcoming to me,” Martinez stated. “A part of that’s earned, and I believe they’ve gotten to know me, they usually’ll proceed to get to know me, and I will proceed to get to know them. So I be ok with it and I be ok with our development as a unit.”