I agree with your general point - he certainly benefitted from the system, and his stats in the N.F.L. relative to college somewhat bear that out. But I think he'd have a been a notable playmaker on any of our teams over the last 3 decades.

Denson, on the other hand, is exactly as you described. He was actually the best defensive back on the team in '95 and '96, but because Farmer and Kinder never developed into their expected potential, along with some head-scratching recruiting misses at tailback in Holtz's last couple of years, he had to be the guy. And I respect that he played balls-out and got the job done to the max of his abilities.