Voting Criteria: Player's importance to the team in 2016, talent and potential for the upcoming season. A player's long term/NFL potential was not taken into consideration.
Voting Panel: Publisher Sean Callahan and HuskerOnline.com staff Robin Washut, Nate Clouse, Mike Matya, Bryan Munson, and Gregg Peterson.
25. Aaron Williams, DB, So.
Despite initially being somewhat of a forgotten man in Nebraska's 2015 class, Aaron Williams started three games in 2015 and is now one of the favorites to move into a starting safety role opposite Nate Gerry.
An early enrolling last spring, Williams ended up getting the start in the first game against BYU, becoming the fifth true freshman to start a season opener since World War II.
He'll have plenty of competition to win a starting job this fall, but his versatility to play safety, nickel or even dime make Williams a near shoe-in to see the field a lot in some capacity in 2016.
24. Dylan Utter, OL, Sr.
A former walk-on from Papillion-LaVista, Dylan Utter took advantage of a window of opportunity created by injuries to earn his first career start in the 2014 Holiday Bowl against USC.
The 6-foot-1, 295-pounder then used tenacity, determination and pure grit to earn a scholarship and win the starting left guard job last season. Utter is expected to take on a new role as a senior in 2016, as he looks to be the frontrunner to take over as NU's starting center.
Utter credits a great deal of his drive to prove others wrong to his label as an in-state walk-on who was largely overlooked coming out of high school in 2012. Now he's on the the verge of being a mainstay on the Huskers' offensive line for the second year in a row.
23. Khalil Davis, DT, RFr.
The departures of senior defensive tackles Greg McMullen and Kevin Williams this spring left Nebraska with some major depth issues on its defensive line heading into the summer.
The good news, though, is young guys like Khalil Davis should quickly put any fears to rest by the time the season rolls around. Davis, as well as his twin brother Carlos, made quite the impression on new defensive line coach John Parrella this spring, and the same can definitely be said vice versa.
In fact, Khalil went on record saying he improved more this spring than he did all of his redshirt season in 2015. Khalil was named the Husker Power Athlete of the Year earlier this spring, which included him squatting 10 reps of 485 pounds.
22. Tanner Farmer, OL, So.
While Nebraska came in feeling good about at least one spot on the offensive line at left tackle, there were major questions surrounding how things would play out inside at guard.
Despite heavy competition from senior Corey Whitaker, it appears that sophomore Tanner Farmer has established himself as the frontrunner for the starting right guard job.
Farmer earned plenty of praise for the work he did over the offseason in reshaping his body from 335 to 295 while remaining one of the strongest players on the entire team. Few players on the roster made a bigger jump up the depth chart over the course of spring ball than Farmer.
21. Jerald Foster, OL, So.
After redshirting his first season in 2014, Jerald Foster came into the 2015 season with high expectations as the former No. 21-ranked guard in the country. But he ended up hardly seeing the field behind Utter, and admittedly his attitude soured in a big way.
However, following some good talks with offensive line coach Mike Cavanaugh, Foster took on a much more positive approach this offseason and has flourished ever since.
The 6-foot-3, 310-pound sophomore is loaded with potential, and while it may have taken a bit longer to get there than he expected, Foster is now the leader for the starting left guard job heading into 2016.
