Originally Posted by Bryceman 
Garn91,
Who are the Top Six NE players in your estimation?
Heard that Courtney Grixby was wearing a protective cast on his right wrist.
Offense only:
1 - Zac Taylor
2 - RB Kenny Wilson (he's going to play early and often)
3 - Matt Herrian (If reports are accurate that Herrian is 100%, he'll play a huge, huge role for the offense. The WCO thrives on the TE posistion)
4 - Maurice Purify (The guy is 6'4; 215lbs & 4.45 40) WR coach Ted Gilmore yesterday on Mo:
“Very explosive. He’s going to help us along,” Gilmore said of the junior college transfer. “We’ve got to be smart with him early on until he learns the system. But he’s exactly what we thought.
5. - Offensive line: Cann't single out one player on the line, but as a group, they've been very focused on 1 - protecting Zac Taylor and 2 - opening holes for the running game.
6. - Marlon Lucky; It took Marlon most of last year to learn the offense, espcially catching out of the backfield. Now that he's into year 2, he's going to have a big year at RB as well as doing some kick return duties as well.
Defense only:
IMO, it's so hard to rank the 6 best players on defense because there is so much talent and depth at virtually every posistion, espcially the front 7. Which with having no bye weeks, having so much depth will allow for constant player rotation. Remember that last year, Nebraska led the nation in sacks and tackles for losses and that 3 out of 4 starting LB's went down with season ending injuries at one point or the other last year and virtually everyone returns. The defensive leaders (Carriker, Moore, etc.) are very determined to field a top 5 defense this year.
That said, if you want me to rank the 6 best, here you go:
Adam Carriker
Corey McKeon
Jay Moore
Steve Octaiven
Courtney Grixby/Tieree Green
Andre Jones
The front 7, IMO, is going to have to be dominant right out of the gate (which I think they will) in order to allow the young and inexperienced secondary to gel.
From what I understand, Grix sprained his thumb and won't miss any practice time or games. His biggest hurdle will be adjusting to playing with a cast.
