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Scott Frost fully understands what I'm about to write, and most of you probably fully understand what I'm about to write. 

But with the three-day NFL Draft set to begin Thursday night, it bears reiterating. It bears emphasizing. 

Nebraska needs more freaks. It needs a lot more players who make plays that make you do double-takes on autumn Saturdays. 

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Frost, the third-year Nebraska head coach, knows all about freaks because he played with them during the mid-1990s at NU and also from 1998-2003 in the NFL.

He's surely aware the Huskers are set to go a ninth straight year without someone on the roster being selected in the first round of the draft. That's far too long between first-round freaks. Sometimes I sense a casual acceptance among NU fans that those type of players are meant for other programs. It doesn't have to be that way. Nine years between first-rounders? It shouldn't be that way.

Please don't misinterpret my use of "freak." In the athletic realm, calling someone a freak is high praise. To wit: Ndamukong Suh was the quintessential freak — so strong and agile and intense that in a game at Baylor, he was flagged for sacking the quarterback with too much force. He went on to become the second overall pick in the 2010 draft. A freak.

A large portion of the Nebraska football fan base forgets that the program used to churn out first-rounders on a regular basis: eight during the 1970s, nine during the 1980s, and eight during the 1990s. In the 2000s, however, the Huskers have produced only four first-rounders — the last being corner Prince Amukamara, selected 19th overall by the New York Giants in 2011.

It's no wonder Nebraska hasn't captured a conference championship since 1999. It's difficult to win titles of any consequence without multiple freaks on the roster. You typically need multiple athletes with eye-popping talent. Talent that lifts other talent in daily practice. During the 1980s and 1990s, it was awe-inspiring at times to watch Tom Osborne-led teams in practice, let alone in games. I'll bet it was that way in many of the Bob Devaney years (1962-72), too.

Former Nebraska secondary coach George Darlington recalls Husker assistants doing double-takes as they watched a particular game film involving former NU corner Bruce Pickens, the third overall pick by the Atlanta Falcons in 1991.

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Pickens could backpedal faster than many mortals can run forward. Yeah, a freak.

"We had him playing off (the line of scrimmage) a little bit, maybe 8 yards deep, and the receiver he was covering literally ran a take-off route — and Bruce never had to get out of his backpedal," Darlington said Saturday. "The receiver couldn't close the cushion enough to cause Bruce to have to turn and roll into a sprint. It was amazing on film. The guy literally couldn't get by Bruce even though he was running full speed ahead 40 yards upfield. He wasn't a slow receiver, either. Bruce was just that fast."

Just that fast while even running backward. 

Plus, Pickens was just generally skilled.

"Well, he ran the 100 meters in 10.2 seconds in junior college," Darlington said. "And he was so good as a corner that although he had only one interception as a senior, nobody on Earth could run by him. His talent level was tremendous. Teams just wouldn't throw at him."

"He was an amazing, amazing athlete."  

Nebraska produced so many freakish difference-makers back in the day that we tend to forget some of them. Years pass and we perhaps overlook someone like George Andrews. The Los Angeles Rams made the former Husker defensive end the 19th pick of the first round in 1979. I'm not sure how I could forget a player with the nickname "The Smiling Assassin." That was Andrews. An assassin. A freak.  

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"He could run and was a tremendous hitter, and tremendously intelligent," said Darlington, recalling Andrews' performance in a loss to Oklahoma. "The Sooners that day never ran a play to their right. Barry Switzer was asked about it after the game and said, 'I am not going to get my quarterback knocked out by running a play to the right.'" 

In other words, Andrews' presence essentially shut down half the field. The opponent feared him. That's the type of player who produces championship rings, or at least nine wins every single season without fail. 

From 1970 to 1990, Nebraska produced at least one first-team All-American in each season. Same goes for 1992-97. 

"We never even thought much of it; we just assumed it," Darlington said. 

Many of us assumed it would continue indefinitely. Many of us took it all for granted. Some fans began to feel entitled. They figured there would always be freaks on campus. We know better now. We know better because Nebraska hasn't had a first-team All-American since Lavonte David in 2011. David was a freak. But that was a decade ago. That's too long between first-team All-Americans. The NFL Draft this week will remind Husker fans of what they're missing. 

Think about it: First-rounders used to be a regular occurrence at Nebraska. Maybe we'll enjoy it that much more if it becomes that way again.

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This article originally ran on journalstar.com.

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