How good were some former players (from a 23-year-old who didn’t see the “glory years”)?

I know this is a boring offseason post and a bit of me putting off studying for finals, but I was wondering if anyone who saw these players play could provide some perspective:

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1. Bobby Newcombe – from some old highlights I’ve seen, Bobby Newcombe had all the tools to be just as good as Eric Crouch (call me crazy). He had a fluid passing motion and decent arm (far better than Crouch), while also seeming very elusive and quick. I definitely view Crouch as a Husker legend, but I can’t help but wonder what could’ve been with Newcombe at QB.
2. Jammal Lord – Lord seems to have been erratic throwing the ball but incredibly athletic, and while his stats aren’t exactly eye-popping, it takes a lot to have a 1k passing yard season and a 1k rushing yard season. Was he a big reason for the drop off from 2001 to 2002? Or was it not Lord’s fault at all? Somewhere in between? I feel like if Lord had been a QB for some of those 80s-90s teams, we would remember him a lot differently.
3. Dahrran Diedrick – Cancer sucks, Rest in Peace to what seems to have been a great person and a man of great character. Whenever I hear about the 2001 team, it’s the same old thing we’re used to seeing: the messes at Colorado (Why was our safety covering the motion man and leaving the entire middle of the field open? Cmon Bohl.) and Miami, with a bit of Crouch’s catch and 95-yard run mixed in. But why doesn’t anyone talk about Diedrick? The dude led the Big 12 in rushing after all. Besides the number 30, is he comparable to someone like Ahman Green? Or is that a stretch?
4. Dan Alexander – Pretty similar to Diedrick, I never hear him mentioned as a great I-back despite stats that say otherwise (he retired 10th all-time on Nebraska’s career rushing yards list and had nearly 1,200 yards in 2000). I understand that he seemed to have had butterfingers, but again, how does he stack up with the great backs from the 90s?
5. Carlos Polk – I’ve heard a lot about some of our all-time great linebackers, especially since one is our AD. But again, I don’t hear much about Polk. He had a decent NFL career and is a current coach on the Bears staff. Great size and, honestly, his tape has always jumped out to me. Was he one of NUs best linebackers?

If anyone has any other thoughts on some former players from the 90s-early 2000s that I should know about (DeJuan Groce also seemed underrated but who am I to say), let me know!

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Sorry for the long post.

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