re: The 2025 Ohio State team might be the greatest team in College Football history.

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He was 6’0 212 and ran in the 4.4-4.5 range, talking about his mental makeup 20 years later is shifting the goal post the discussion is about Nebraska.

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I question his ability to have been resilient against a very physical defense, partially due to his mental instability. But mostly because lining up in the I and trying to run over a DL more talented than your OL doesn’t tend to work. That’s exactly why Nebraska struggled to score points against prime OU, Miami, and FSU. Too strong up front. They couldn’t push them around like 1995 Florida and the Big 8 teams like Kansas and Kansas State that Osborne never lost to in 25 years.

2018 Clemson had three first round draft picks on the DL, a great DC with experience against the old Nebraska style, and every year they prepared for Paul Johnson’s GT offense that had a more sophisticated option style.

They also developed against a plethora of talented players in the Bama games from 2015-2017. No one would be awed by Tommie Frazier or Lawrence Phillips or receivers who never saw a NFL facility or their offensive scheme.

I fail to see how 1995 Nebraska matches up favorably against 2018 Clemson.

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A lot of Alabama and UGA backs couldn’t hack it in the NFL

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The best Bama and UGA teams of the Saban and Smart era had a hell of a lot of NFL guys. Every position every year? Maybe not.

2019 LSU had five first rounders in 2020, 2020 Bama had six first rounders in 2021, and 2021 UGA had five first rounders in 2022. And most of those guys have had sustained careers.

1995 Nebraska had one in 1996, and he was (as we have noted) a bust.

Talent in the ‘90s just wasn’t as concentrated in so few hands as at the zenith of the SEC. You also didn’t have to deal with so much competition. 1995 Nebraska played 11 games, no conference championship (which cost them in 1996), and no playoff games.

1995 Nebraska faced one first round draft pick the entire year. That’s not even possible for a national champion now and hasn’t been for a long time.

2019 LSU had/faced 18 first round draft picks. 1995 Nebraska had/faced 2.

Little bit different level of talent.

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The point you are still missing is the level of competition he faces in college has no bearing on good he can be in the pros

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Moving up to a higher level of competition absolutely can (and does) expose a lot of teams and players.

Knowing nothing else, would you rather your school sign a player who was successful in the largest classification in a state or the smallest? I think we would all take the largest. That doesn’t mean every big school guy is a stud and every small school guy sucks - but equal success against better competition is a more reliable bet. And some other guys do well at all levels because they were surrounded by really good players.

Phillips was successful in a situation in which a lot of players were successful. Nebraska did not miss a beat without him in 1995 because who was going to stop them? What legends of the gridiron played defense against Nebraska in 1995? No one.

Then Phillips goes to the NFL and gets exposed at a position that should translate well. Mike Rozier, Roger Craig, Tom Rathman, Corey Schlesinger, and Ahman Green all had success. We’re not talking about a wishbone QB here. We’re talking’90s football with a lot of NFL teams under center running 21 personnel. Phillips should have been fine but couldn’t handle it at that level.

Phillips’ mental state is by no means the reason I think 1995 Nebraska wouldn’t match up well against 2018 Clemson, but I do question how he would have responded the first time he got planted by Dexter Lawrence and found out that every yard would be a tough one.

Etienne, on the other hand, is having a respectable career in the NFL. In fact, he and Trevor Lawrence just beat the Chiefs to move to 4-1. They aren’t the only players on 2018 Clemson that have had success outside of their college system and against elite competition.