Nebraska football fans have been saying it since the regular season started. Adrian Martinez has the kind of talent you simply don't see that often. There's a reason most people thought he was going to win the starting quarterback job shortly after he finished showing off what he was capable of in the Spring Game. Martinez had all the tools of a great college starting quarterback. That includes a mindset where, when something goes wrong, he doesn't back down, but rather doubles down. That mentality and the physical tools he possesses make him a real contender for freshman quarterback of the year.

That's not my opinion, the statistics and facts bear it out.

Nebraska football's freshman standing out more than you think

When you are talking about something like "just how good is Adrian Martinez," fans of the program are going to accused of severe bias. They get to watch him every game. They get to see him throw just four incompletions in a game while also running for over 100 yards. The thing is, Martinez when being evaluated by statistical tools, stands out as one of the best of the best.

When looking at ESPN's QBR system, the Huskers' signal caller is third among all true freshman with a grade of 64.4. That's behind only Clemson's Trevor Lawrence and Texas Tech's Alan Bowman. Overall, Martinez is ranked 48th among quarterbacks.

Lawrence is 20th with a grade of 76.5 and Bowman has a grade of 73.6 and is ranked 31st.

Adrian Martinez getting stronger as the season goes on

When you're talking about a true freshman quarterback it makes sense that he's getting better as the season goes on. The impressive thing with Martinez is just how much better he's getting In his first four games for the Nebraska football team, the man who didn't play a snap last season completed 60 percent of his passes in just one of four games.

He's completed over 70 percent of his passes in both of the last two games.

His raw quarterback rating has been better every single game after hitting an easily season-low 3.1 against Michigan. Neither Lawrence or Bowman can claim four straight weeks of improvement in raw QBR. The case can also be made that Martinez is having better performances against better opposition than either Lawrence or Bowman and with a more flawed supporting cast.

Lawrence plays for 7-0 Clemson, a team that has beaten its last two opponents by a combined score of 104-10. Bowman's Texas Tech Red Raiders aren't that good, but they are 5-2 and at least a dark horse candidate for the Big 12 title game. Adrian Martinez is putting up eye-popping numbers for a Nebraska football team that is going to have to pull off some serious upsets to post a record as good as 5-7. The Cornhuskers' quarterback is largely being ignored when talking about the best freshman signal callers in the country, but he shouldn't be.