Nebraska's Greg McMullen, Kevin Williams leave the program

LINCOLN, Neb. - A Nebraska defensive line that went into spring practice short on experience will head into the fall further depleted.

Coach Mike Riley announced after Saturday's spring game that Greg McMullen has decided to give up football to concentrate on graduate school and Kevin Williams will transfer.

McMullen started all 26 games the past two seasons, mostly as an end. He was working at tackle this spring before taking a leave of absence that Riley announced a week ago. Riley said he originally thought McMullen would return to play his final season.

''He wants to go on with his life,'' Riley said. ''He has really got a vision about where he wants to go, what he wants to do, and I'm proud of him in a lot of ways. We'll miss him. As a guy around here, he's a really, really good person and a good football player, so it's kind of bittersweet for sure.''

Williams, a tackle who has battled injuries his entire career, will look to play at another school as a graduate transfer. He didn't practice this spring because of a wrist injury.

The Cornhuskers already were short-handed at tackle because Maliek Collins and Vincent Valentine declared for the NFL draft after their junior seasons.

''It's obviously not easy to lose four defensive tackles in total that all had eligibility to come back,'' Riley said. ''You can't hide from that. That's not a good thing. I'm going to look at it half-full. I'm excited about the guys who are coming back.''

Kevin Maurice and twin brothers Khalil and Carlos Davis manned the tackle spots with the No. 1 defense in the spring game, with Maurice playing only the first quarter.

Others contending for playing time at tackle this fall will be Peyton Newell, who was with the No. 2 defense on Saturday, and Mick Stoltenberg, who was out this spring because of injury.

''We'll be absolutely fine, and we might be better than fine as this thing goes because there are some good football players there,'' Riley said.