Former Kansas State and Nebraska quarterback Adrian Martinez went to the New Jersey Generals with the 15th pick in the second round of this week’s first-ever United States Football League (USFL) college draft. Former Huskers head coach Mike Riley (2015-17) enters his second year at the helm with the Generals.
In the USFL Draft, teams select 80 players from a pool of 3,000 eligible athletes. To be eligible, players must be at least three years removed from high school and have no remaining collegiate eligibility.
Martinez transferred from Nebraska to Kansas State in December 2021 and played his final season of collegiate eligibility with the Wildcats, who won the Big 12. Martinez finished the 2021 season with the Huskers passing for 2,863 yards and 14 touchdowns against 10 interceptions. For his Nebraska career, Martinez threw for 8,491 yards and 45 touchdowns against 30 interceptions, and rushed for 2,301 yards and 35 touchdowns.
Martinez had a tough season last fall with multiple injuries and missed the Big 12 championship game against TCU. But he was able to play spot snap in the Wildcats’ Sugar Bowl loss to Alabama WillHoward taking the most reps.
“Yeah, I mean, I’ve dealt with a lot of different injuries in my career, for sure,” Martinez said on Dec. 27. injury recovery process.
Martinez and Howard actually split 2022 reps due to the former’s injuries. Martinez has played in nine of K-State’s 13 games, but that includes limited action against Baylor and in the Wildcat’s first fight against TCU. In his nine starts, Martinez completed 64.1% of his passes for 1,261 yards and six touchdowns with one interception while also rushing for 615 yards and 10 other scores. On a basis per snap, Martinez arguably had the best season of his career as a passer.
“I mean shoot, today I had one of the coaches go, ‘Hey, that’s your last Tuesday practice in college,’ and I’m like, ‘That’s a good perspective on it,'” Martinez said on December 27 “I might as well enjoy it. So it’s a little surreal and it probably hasn’t quite hit me yet. But I mean, what a place… Sugar Bowl, why isn’t that your last game? It’s a great way to go out.”
