Voting Criteria: Player's importance to the team in 2018, overall talent, and future potential for the upcoming season. A player's long-term/NFL prospects were not taken into consideration.
Voting Panel: Publisher Chris McLaughlin, Herdnation.com staff Josh Stowers, Dick Ash and former Managing Editor Mike Gwinn.
20. Willie Johnson, WR, So.
Johnson is a little bit of a forgotten man at WR, playing under Tyre Brady's huge shadow. Make no mistake about it, however, Johnson is supremely talented and had a solid red-shirt freshman season by hauling in 36 catches for 443 yards and four touchdowns. A 50 catch, 700 yard season is well within reach for the Florida native.
19. Brandon Drayton, Safety, So.
Drayton was excellent early in the season but faded late with the emergence of Nazeeh Johnson. Drayton has excellent range at the free safety spot and if he can re-gain his form he could open things up for new defensive coordinator Adam Fuller in terms of bringing pressure with his front seven.
18. Tarik Adams, Offensive Tackle, So.
Adams started 13 games at right tackle as a red-shirt freshman and flashed the kind of talent that could end up with him playing on Sundays. The Georgia native is a road-grader in the running game and is extremely strong for such a young player. If Adams continue to improve his pass-pro - watch out.
17. Juwon Young, DE, Sr.
The hype around Young was strong last fall and although Young had a very nice season, most Herd fans were left a little disappointed by the Miami transfer's season. Young is built like a mack-truck and has P5 type of athleticism but for some reason did not pop on a consistent basis. Young has been moved to DE for his senior season, which is always a cause for concern. How he adapts to his new position will be one of the more interesting storylines to follow early in the 2018 season.
Jaquan Yulee, LB, SO.
Much like Young, a lot was expected of Yulee. The difference with Yulee is that he was playing his first season at the college level after coming off a year of inactivity as a future. Yulee was buried a bit on the linebacker depth chart but when the former Rivals 250 recruit was afforded playing time he stuck out on the field. Marshall is once again loaded at LB in 2018 but Yulee is on a mission and just may force the coaches to find a way to get him on the field more than last season.
