When Adrian Martinez signed with the Birmingham Stallions last December, the news didn’t exactly make waves.
Although 2023 United States Football League MVP Alex McGough had moved on to the NFL, Birmingham still had J’Mar Smith, who was the presumptive starting quarterback before being injured in the opening game and opening the door for McGough.
And then once Matt Corral agreed to a deal with the Stallions in February, some pundits had already handed him the job, expecting Smith and Martinez to battle it out for QB2.
Instead, Martinez proved all the doubters wrong.
On Monday he was named the United Football League’s Most Valuable Player thanks to a regular season that saw him throw for 1,749 yards and 15 touchdowns while rushing for a UFL-best 528 yards (9.8 yards per carry).
Martinez was responsible for 18 scores and ranks second in the circuit in total offense with 2,277 yards. He is the only UFL QB to throw for more than 300 yards twice during the 10-game slate.
His four TD passes against Memphis on April 4 is a UFL record, and his 138-yard rushing effort against Houston on April 27 was second-best during regular season action.
Even more remarkable is that Martinez and Corral split time as starter through the first four weeks of the season; Martinez didn’t “win” the job until the following game against Houston.
“The journey has been up and down,” Martinez said in April. “I mean, that’s been the story of my football career and it’s just been the story my life so far and, and honestly, I’m thankful for it. I would be lying to you if I told you this is where I expected to be right now in my life, but I’m thankful I’m here.
“I’m thankful I’m playing for (Stallions coach Skip Holtz). I’m thankful I’m on this really, really good team with a lot of talent. And it’s definitely a learning experience. And at the end of the day, I love ball. I love football, and it’s an opportunity, and an opportunity to get back to the NFL.”
On Saturday when Birmingham defeated Michigan, 31-18, in the USFL Conference Championship Game at Protective Stadium, it was Martinez’s seventh consecutive start and eighth overall. He went 10-19-1 for 164 yards and a touchdown before being replaced by Corral, who was 9-11-1 for 120 yards and two TDs.
Martinez spent four seasons at the University of Nebraska, completing 670 of 1,055 passes for 8,491 yards and 45 touchdowns with 30 interceptions.
He closed out his college career at Kansas State, going 118-184-1 for 1,261 yards and six TDs.
But he was even more accomplished as a running quarterback, amassing 2,928 yards over five seasons and reaching the end zone with his legs 45 more times.
He was signed by the Detroit Lions as an undrafted free agent last May and released in August.
Four months later, the Stallions came calling.