Nebraska defensive lineman Greg McMullen had a unique reason for taking a leave of absence and not playing in the final week of spring practice. He had been focusing on his academics so that he could graduate in the spring. As a result, McMullen didn’t play in Saturday’s spring game.

McMullen won’t play in any other games for Nebraska in 2016.

Mike Riley announced that McMullen will end his football career and instead go into the workforce after he graduates.

That’s a significant loss for the Huskers, who already had to replace defensive tackles Maliek Collins and Vincent Valentine after both declared early for the draft. McMullen started in 26 straight games in the last two years and he played in 37 games in his career.

To make matters worse, Riley also announced that defensive tackle Kevin Williams will transfer for his final year of eligibility. As a graduate transfer, he’ll be eligible to play immediately. He finished his Nebraska career with four career starts.

That means the Huskers will turn to the talented senior Kevin Maurice and redshirt freshman Khalil Davis to take the starting tackle spots.

Despite the losses, Riley said that he isn’t worried about his unit heading into the summer.