Martinez had 11 carries for 71 yards and completed 14-of-26 passes for 167 yards in Nebraska’s 20-3 win over Kansas.
“I thought it was big,” Pelini said Tuesday at his weekly press conference. “You didn’t want him to be sitting for two weeks. We were a little guarded with Taylor early in the game, and I think Taylor was a little bit guarded. He wasn’t sure where he was going to be, and I thought as the game went on he grew more confident, which was a big key. We didn’t want to sit him for two weeks.”
Martinez said playing against the Jayhawks was big for him and the Huskers (8-1, 5-1 in the Big 12) heading into Saturday’s game at Texas A&M (7-3, 4-2).
“It was very important for me to get back out there,” Martinez said after the game Saturday, “just to know that it’s my team and no one else’s team, and for me to start establishing a rhythm once we go into Texas A&M and Colorado.”
When asked if he liked Martinez calling the Huskers “my team,” Pelini said he wasn’t sure what the quarterback meant by that.
“I didn’t hear the comment, but that’s the type of attitude every guy should have,” Pelini said. “You hope that’s the attitude across the board on your football team.”
Martinez missed most of six quarters of play after being injured in the second quarter against Missouri on Oct. 30. He then sat out against Iowa State on Nov. 6, a game the Huskers ended up winning 31-30 in overtime.
Pelini said Martinez needed all the work he could get Saturday night against Kansas.
“I thought it was important for him to get reps. That’s one of the reasons he was in at the end of the football game was to continue to get him some more reps. He hasn’t played a ton of football. This is only his first year, so you miss a week you’re going to be a little rusty. I think that was part of the deal.”
The Huskers used the wildcat formation with Rex Burkhead behind center sparingly against Kansas after using it fairly extensively against Iowa State.
“It’s just another piece of the puzzle, another thing people have to prepare for,” Pelini said of the wildcat. “I think Rex does it well. I don’t think we executed it as well in the last game as we have, but it’s all part of the puzzle.”
Another piece of the Nebraska recruiting puzzle has been getting players from Texas to come to Lincoln. Saturday’s game at College Station will be NU’s last regular season trip to Texas before they join the Big Ten Conference next season.
Although the Huskers already have several commitments from Texas recruits for next year, there has been speculation that the change of conferences might make it harder for Pelini and his coaches to recruit in the Lone Star state.
Pelini said he’s not sure if that will be a problem.
“Time will tell on that, but we’ve had good reception down in Texas,” Pelini said. “You hope to continue the relationships that you’ve had. You have to ask me that a couple of years down the road here, because I think there are a lot of unknowns as to how the move will affect you in a number of ways.”
On if the opportunity to play in Texas was something they told recruits they were pursuing from the state
“Somewhat, but most of the time families now travel. It’s not that hard to get to Lincoln and to come to games here. Bottom line, you see Big Ten teams recruiting well in the state of Texas. It’s not like we would be down there alone. There is a lot of talent down there, a lot of people, so there’s more to choose from obviously when you’re talking about a population base like you’re dealing with in Texas”
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