Nebraska Football's All-Quarter-Century Team: The Backfield

Eric Crouch earned the third Heisman Trophy is program history during his historic 2001 season. He also earned All-America and All-Big 12 honors, while also being named the Walter Camp Player of the Year, Davey O'Brien Quarterback Award Winner, and Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year (twice), among other accolades. The Nebraska native finished with the NCAA record for career rushing TDs by a quarterback and became just third QB in NCAA Division 1-A history to rush for 3,000 yards and pass for 4,000 yards in a career.

Joe Dailey was the first quarterback of a new era for Nebraska football. In the West Coast Offense, Daily . His performance against Baylor on Oct. 16, 2024, still ranks as the third-best NCAA Pass Rating game in program history at 291.1. He is tied for 10th among quarterbacks with 17 touchdowns in a single season.

Joe Ganz was the full-time starter for another new era at NU, but his breakout game came the year before in a 73-31 thrashing of Kansas State. By the time Ganz was done as a Cornhusker, he held more than 20 schools records.

Sam Keller played just a single season at Nebraska, edging Joe Ganz for the starting job in fall camp. Keller finished the season by completing a Nebraska single-season record 63.1 percent of his passes for 2,422 yards and 14 touchdowns. His 2,422 yards ranked third on the Nebraska single-season chart and his 269.1 passing yards per game were a Husker single-season best.

Tanner Lee was another one-year player after transferring to Lincoln. In 2017, he completed 57.5 percent of his passes and threw for 3,143 yards and 23 touchdowns, becoming just the fourth Husker to post a 3,000-yard passing season.

Adrian Martinez started all four years he played in Lincoln. The main quarterback for the majority of the Scott Frost era, Martinez broke a litany of career and single-season records, from total offense to completion percentage. The first three-time team captain in program history was the first player in school history with four 1,000-yard passing seasons.

Taylor Martinez was not only one of the most dynamic quarterbacks in schools history, but one of the most electrifying players in the nation when he stepped on the football field. The 2012 first-team All-Big Ten selection left the program as the holder of numerous school records after starting 43 games, including helping Nebraska to its last conference championship game appearance.

Zac Taylor began his career at Wake Forest and Butler County Community College before transferring to Lincoln and starting 26 games over two seasons. The 2006 Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year concluded his Husker career as one of the most successful quarterbacks in school history, owning nearly every NU game, season and career passing record.

Casey Thompson was another Cornhusker quarterback to play just a single season in Lincoln, but that did not lessen his impact on the program. Thompson started 10 of 12 games in 2022, becoming only the fifth quarterback in Husker history with three 300-yard passing games in a season.

Running Backs

Ameer Abdullah earned All-America honors twice as a Husker, including second-team after his dynamic 2014 season. He put together his third straight 1,000-yard rushing season in 2014, a first in the history of the Nebraska football program. Abdullah trails only Mike Rozier for 100-yard games and career rushing yards. Rozier and Eric Crouch are the only Huskers to score more rushing touchdowns in a career. He holds the record for most all-purpose yards in a Husker career.

Dan Alexander earned first-team All-Big 12 honors in 2000, the same year he rushed for 240 yards and was named the Most Valuable Player of the Alamo Bowl. In that senior season, Alexander rushed for more than 100 yards seven times, including 208 yards in the season opener.

Rex Burkhead still holds the school record for carries in a game, with 38 against Iowa in 2011. The 2011 first-team All-Big Ten selection is No. 6 on the Nebraska all-time rushing chart and tied with Lawrence Phillips for 10th in career rushing touchdowns.

Dahrran Diedrick used his powerful rushing style to earn All-Big 12 honors twice in the early 2000s. ABC's NU Player of the Game against Notre Dame in 2001, Diedrick led the league in rushing with 1,299 yards and helped the Big Red to the BCS National Championship game. He ranks 12th on the all-time rushing chart.

Roy Helu Jr. rushed for 307 yards against Missouri in 2010, a single-game program record that still stands today. With the fifth-most career rushing yards in program history, Helu earned second-team All-Big 12 honors in 2009 and 2010.

Brandon Jackson was among five Huskers to earn first-team All-Big 12 honors in 2006. The standout finished fifth in the Big 12 in rushing (70.6 ypg) and was third in the league in all-purpose yards (104.2 ypg). Against Colorado, Jackson set a program record with 41 all-purpose attempts.

Marlon Lucky continued the all-purpose success after Jackson, tallying the 10th-best all-purpse season in 2007 and finishing his career with what is today the fifth-most all-purpose yards. Lucky holds one of 36 100-yard rushing seasons, and is one of 29 Huskers to tally more than 2000 rushing yards in a career. He has the second and third-most receptions by a Husker in a game, and his 75 receptions in 2007 are still a program record for a single season.

Devine Ozigbo is Nebraska's most-recent 1,000-yard rusher, tallying 1,082 yards as a senior in 2018 to earn third-team All-Big Ten honors. Only seven Husker running backs have rushed for more yards as a senior, including Abdullah, Helu Jr., and Alexander.

Cory Ross toted the rock for the 13th-most rushing yards in program history, with 2,743. Although Lucky eventually caught more passes in a game, Ross still holds the program record for receiving yards by a running back, with 131 against Iowa State in 2005. His 86-yard touchdown run against Missouri in 2004 is the longest by a Husker running back since the turn of the century.

Dane Todd earned first-team All-Big 12 honors in 2006, something that is made more remarkable by the fact that he did so while in the West Coast Offense. Todd was the lead blocker for Ross in 2005 and helped the 2006 running back room combine for more than 2,400 yards and 26 touchdowns on the ground.

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