Nebraska's true freshman QB to make history against Akron

A California teenager will make football history when Nebraska opens its season on Saturday against the Akron Zips at Memorial Stadium. Head coach Scott Frost announced on Sunday that true freshman Adrian Martinez will get the start against the Zips. No true freshman has ever opened a season and taken snaps as the No. 1 quarterback for the Cornhuskers. The Fresno, California, native originally committed to Tennessee, but when Frost moved from Central Florida back to his alma mater, the writing was on the Cornhusker wall. Martinez earned the first scholarship offer of the Frost era at Nebraska. Frost's return has raised the level of excitement around Lincoln, Nebraska, to highs not seen in decades, and now he'll put his trust in a true freshman. The 6-foot-2, 220-pounder beat out redshirt freshman Tristan Gebbia in what the Lincoln Journal Star described as a "spirited" battle. "It's been hard because at times one guy's looked better than the other and at other times the other guy's looked better," Frost told the Journal Star on Friday. "They kind of take turns having great days. They kind of have different strengths, so it's kind of comparing a little bit of apples to oranges within the same offense. I think both guys would be perfectly capable of operating our offense well." Frost has scheduled a Monday afternoon news conference to discuss further the decision to give Martinez the start. The big question mark is how Martinez will perform in his first real football game in nearly 22 months. Shoulder surgery forced him to miss his senior season at Clovis West. As a junior, he compiled 2,562 yards, 25 touchdowns and six interceptions in 12 games through the air. On the ground, he ran for 1,462 yards and 14 more scores.