First things first... This is Memorial Day and we can't do anything without saying a massive Thank You to all those who have given their lives and have sacrificed for our freedoms. To all those currently serving and all those who have we say Thank You as well. This is your day and enjoy it to the fullest. 

Now on to the countdown, you know the super serious business of the day. After all, we are inside the Top 10 and that has generated a lot of debate on where guys have ranked. Well, that's sure to be the case again today with our choice for No. 6. 

Along with a certain QB from Columbus they form the most polarizing and yet entertaining players to watch in the league. Questions remain about them both, but more so for Martinez who's show great ability at times and mind numbingly bad decision making at others. So, let's explore why we rank Martinez so high on our list. 

No. 6 Taylor Martinez (QB, Nebraska):

It's a strange season for running back in the Big Ten. Gone are household names like Montee Ball, Le'Veon Bell, and Rex Burkhead. However, that doesn't mean there isn't talent at the position group. All you need to do is look at the names that dot the Top 25 list so far. 

Well, we add one more name to that list today and he'll be the guy for the first time going into a season in Nebraska. The question for us is No. 8 the last running back to make the list or not? Could there be a better RB in the Big Ten than him? 

Only time will tell, but for now let's focus on the guy who hopes to make people forget all about Rex Burkhead and make his own name on the Memorial Stadium turf. 

No. 8: Ameer Abdullah (RB, Nebraska):

After a day off to enjoy some great weather and a little Sunday Funday activities it's back to the countdown here at The B1G Time. For the 2nd straight time on our list we've got a first entrant for a team, this time from the Nebraska Cornhuskers. 

However, we are sticking with the same position after we left you with a look at No. 17 Cody Latimer of the Indiana Hoosiers. As we enter the 2013 season a pattern seems to be emerging in that most of the talent at the skill positions are coming from juniors or sophomores, indicating that the best is probably yet to come for a lot of the conference. 

Before we get into the next player on the list, let us remind you of what criteria we used to make our Top 25 list. We used things like importance to your team, overall skill at your position, records set, past performance, conference honors (coaches, media, our list too), and the good old-fashioned eye test.

Speak the name Tommie Frazier to any Nebraska fan and their face is likely to light up more than the Christmas tree at Rockefeller plaza. He's easily one of the most iconic figures of one of the sports most iconic teams and yet the man has not been honored as such, that is until now, according to Matt Hayes of The Sporting News:

Source tells Sporting News: Tommie Frazier has been elected to College Football Hall of Fame.

— Matt Hayes(@Matt_HayesSN) May 6, 2013

First off, how the hell isn't this guy in the Hall of Fame already? Dude was one of the kingpins of the Nebraska dynasty in the mid-90's no? Frazier was the ultimate gamer and the ultimate winner, going 33-3 in his four years at the helm of the program and producing back-to-back National Championships for the Huskers. He also holds the school record for TD passes in a career (43), is 2nd in total offense in a career with 5,467 yards and 79 touchdowns.

From the this is freaking awesome files - Upper Deck has announced they are honoring the 7 year old cancer patient, Jack Hoffman, that ran for a 69 yard touchdown in the Nebraska spring game two weekends ago. 

UD created a special card for @huskers future star Jack Hoffman. Take a look at Jack's Star Rookie card: facebook.com/notes/upper-de… #Collect

— Upper Deck (@UpperDeckSports) April 16, 2013

There hasn't been a more touching moment in all of college football this spring and in quite some time frankly and this is just icing on the cake. Pure class by both Nebraska and Upper Deck, but let's just hope this doesn't hurt his NCAA eligibility in the future! One can only hope that Jack can get healthy again and perhaps one day enter the halls of the University of Nebraska as a student! 

Here is the picture of the card: 

Welcome to a brand new feature here at The B1G Time - our "Spring Football Exit Interview" feature. In this feature we are reaching out to some of the best and brightest bloggers & beat writers from around the conference to get the lowdown on what happened over the course of spring football and the spring game itself. 

Up first in Nebraska and Jon Johnston, the managing editor and beer connoisseur of CornNation - the Huskers site over at SB Nation. The Huskers played their spring game last Saturday afternoon in front of nearly 60,000 fans as they enter their 3rd year in the Big Ten.

We delve into the heartwarming story of Jack Hoffman as well as the bone chillingly bad defense and much more. 

So sit back and enjoy our last look on the Cornhuskers as we officially close the book on their spring.

Reports out of practice this past weekend stated that presumed starting running back Ameer Abdullah had suffered some sort of injury, well today it was confirmed that he sustained a knee injury and could miss the rest of spring practice.

Pelini said that the running back "tweaked" his knee during practice and compared it to the injury that Burkhead sustained in 2012, but to a lot less of a degree. That should be welcome news to a fanbase that could've been facing life without the only two options with extensive experience at running back.

Abdullah was clearly the front runner to replace the graduated Rex Burkhead, rushing for 1,137 yards, while starting seven games as Burkhead dealt with his own knee injury. 

It appears that Pelini isn't all too worried about this particular injury, especially since it comes early on in spring practice. He also seemed to suggest that Abdullah could see his spring shut down as a percuation. 

"Let's face it, Ameer didn't need a lot of carries this spring," Pelini told the Lincoln Star Journal. "If he's going to get tweaked and miss a couple days, now's the time."

With the injury it means Imani Cross, a promising sophomore, and redshirt freshman King Frazier could benifit the most and we all know that one man's loss is anothers gain and that's 100% the case when you are talking about gaining playing time and the trust of the coaching staff. 

So much for the good vibes Pelini built up by doing that Harlem Shake video and welcome back to the old grouchy and curmudgeonly guy we all knew and loved. Apparently all it took was one horrible, no good, very bad practice over the weekend to kill off those good vibes. 

Pelini's ire was directed mostly towards the old "blackshirts" on defense and to his credit he ripped them a new one in private first and then in public. However, what he said in public is some of the best stuff we've seen or heard from him in quite some time. 

"What I watched was a mentally weak football team," Pelini told reporters following practice on Saturday. "A bad football team, especially on the defensive side of the football. Call it what it is. We've got a long, long, long, long way to go."

One would assume just about any team has a long way to go after just five practices into their spring, but apparently Pelini wasn't any too pleased to say the least. In fact, he wasn't even close to finished going off on his team at all.

After starting at the bottom of the barrel yesterday it's time to take it to the top as we focus our spring football spotlight on the Nebraska Cornhuskers.

For most Big Ten fans the lasting image of Nebraska was the 70-31 thumping they surprisingly took at the hands of Wisconsin last year. However, internally the focus is on building off of another division championship under Bo Pelini. After all, they did accomplish that feat in just their 2nd year as members of the Big Ten. 

Now comes new challenges with new cross-divisional games and facing life without Rex Burkhead at running back as well. For some it feels like this program is stuck in the rut of being good enough to compete, but not great enough to win in the games that matter most. 

Can Pelini and Co. shake that notion finally, or will they fall victim to yet another season of what could've been's and oh so closes? No matter what there are a lot of changes ahead for this team and some of them could be for the positive in turning the corner once and for all for this proud program.

*all players with 2013 status (i.e. 2012 sophomores are juniors)

As Spring football season rolls on around the Big 10, we're going to go around to each team in the conference and check in to see where the programs are at in the offseason.  For each team, we'll provide a Spring Football primer that contains some of the pertinent information for each team including looking back at 2010 and looking forward to the the 2011 season.  Our final stop is the newest member of the Big Ten, Nebraska.  What will the storied program do in their debut season in the B1G?  Let's check Nebraska's Starting 11...

Nebraska Cornhuskers

1) 2010 Record: 10-4, (6-2, 1st Big XII North)

2) Bowl Result: Loss 19-7 vs Washington in Holiday Bowl.  Somehow, the Huskers scored 7 points in the Holiday Bowl against a team that they put 56 on in Seattle.  Head coach Bo Pelini summed it up best - "I'm embarrassed."  

3) 4 Year Average: 8.5 Wins, 4.75 Losses overall.  4.75 Wins, 3.25 Losses in Big XII play

4) Best Win: Sep 18, 56-21 Win @ Washington

5) Worst Loss: Dec 30, 19-7 Loss vs Washington

6) 2010 Season Headline: An up and down season for Nebraska was spotlighted by their best and worst performances of the season against Washington.  The September win showed a team led by a dynamic QB (Taylor Martinez) that reached another Big XII title game.  The loss showed a team too eager to self-destruct and play without composure.

7) 2010 MVP: Prince Amukamara, CB - Young QB Taylor Martinez drew headlines (both positive and negative), but it was another defensive star that was the best and most consistent player for the Huskers.  Prince Amukamara followed in Ndamukong Suh's footsteps (is it bad I know both of those spellings without spellcheck?) as another All-American defender.  He's sure to be a top pick in this year's NFL Draft.

8) Key Losses: Amukamara, RB Roy Helu Jr, OL Ricky Henry, DL Pierre Allen

9) Key Returners: QB Taylor Martinez, RB Rex Burkhead, WR Brandon Kinnie, LB Lavonte David

10) 2011 Recruiting Rankings: Rivals - #2 Big Ten, #15 Nationally, 19 commits, 3.53 stars average score.

11) Big Question For 2011: Can the Pelini-Martinez relationship survive?
-Everything was turning up roses for Nebraska head coach Bo Pelini and Freshman QB sensation Taylor Martinez midway through the 2010 season.  Nebraska was 9-1 and in the Top 10 in the country.  Then came a 9-6 loss at Texas A&M where Martinez was injured and Pelini was shown on national television verbally and forcibly berating his QB, even tugging on the collar of his jersey.  After that moment, Nebraska's season was never the same.  In spite of rumors that T-Mart had quit the team, the dual-threat QB has stayed with the Huskers.  While the volatile relationship looks like it has simmered down, one has to wonder whether both Pelini and Martinez can survive each other and themselves.  In spite of bringing Nebraska back from the days of Bill Callahan, Pelini's hot temper came to a head last season in several unflattering instances.  Martinez was often criticized for his attitude at times as well.  Both men will need to grow up for Nebraska to carry its Big XII success to the Big Ten.