Former Kansas State quarterback Adrian Martinez was named the Most Valuable Player of the United Football League (UFL), the league announced on Monday.
The Birmingham Stallions star led the league in rushing with 528 yards through the regular season. He ranked third in passing with 1,749 yards and tied for second in passing touchdowns with 15.
He was also No. 2 in the UFL in total offense with 2,277 yards. Martinez was responsible for 18 touchdowns (15 passing, 3 rushing), which tied for most in the UFL.
The UFL is in its inaugural season and is made up of teams from the former XFL and USFL.
Martinez holds the league single-game mark for touchdown passes with four against Memphis on May 4. He was responsible for five touchdowns, another UFL best, versus Houston on May 18.
He was the only UFL quarterback to throw for more than 300 yards twice during the UFL regular season, putting up a UFL-best 369 yards at Memphis on May 4 after throwing for 334 against the Showboats on April 13.
His 138-yard rushing performance against Houston on April 27 was the second-best in the UFL during the regular season. It was one of only seven 100-yard rushing performances of the entire UFL regular season.
The USFL Conference Champion Birmingham Stallions will face the XFL Conference Champion San Antonio Brahmas in the inaugural UFL Championship in St. Louis, Sunday at 4 p.m. The game will be televised on FOX.
San Antonio features Martinez’s friend and former teammate at K-State and Nebraska, wide receiver Kade Warner. Other former Wildcats in the league include Elijah Sullivan (Birmingham), Kiondre Thomas (Houston), Noah Johnson (Michigan), Matthew McCrane (D.C.), Briley Moore-McKinney (D.C.), Abdul Beecham (St. Louis) and Elijah Lee (St. Louis).
