6. D.L. Wilhite
Minnesota's sophomore defensive end knows he's probably not going pro. He also knows the value of a scholarship.
It is your duty to root for this kid. Wilhite is pursuing a double major and hopes to one day become a professor. During the offseason, he was accepted as a Ronald E. McNair Scholar, an initiative that honors the former Challenger space shuttle astronaut. Wilhite has an interest in Middle Eastern studies and hopes to study in Cairo in 2013.
D.L.'s dad doesn't allow dreadlocks, tats, earrings or baggy pants. Wilhite took his first plane flight when he came to Minnesota for a recruiting visit. The family didn't take vacations because they couldn't afford them.
"I can go out and blow my knee out the first day of camp and be done for the rest of my career," Wilhite told the Minneapolis Star Tribune, "But you can never take away the stuff I've learned."
