Former Nebraska Cornhuskers star running back Dahrran Diedrick, who went on to have a long and successful career in the Canadian Football League, died Saturday after a battle with cancer.

Diedrick was 44-years-old. He helped lift the Montreal Alouettes to a pair of Grey Cups during his 10-year run in the CFL. The team confirmed the death through Diedrick's family.

Former Alouettes quarterback Anthony Calvillo, who currently works on the team's coaching staff, said his former teammate leaves "far too young."

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"I won two championships with Dahrran, and he was a very important piece of our team," Calvillo who played with Diedrick for eight seasons in Montreal said in a statement. "He was always in a good mood and got along with everyone in our dressing room. He leaves us far too young."

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The 6-foot, 225 pound Diedrick was born in Jamaica and grew up in Toronto. He later became the first Nebraska recruit from Canada to play in Lincoln, Nebraska.

He had a breakout season for the Cornhuskers in 2001 when he rushed for 1,299 yards, which led the Big 12 Conference. He also scored 15 touchdowns that season.

Diedrick was a key part of Nebraska's run to the national championship game during the 2001 season. Nebraska was eventually defeated by the Miami Hurricanes in the Rose Bowl. He finished his college football career with 2,745 yards rushing on 502 carries with 26 touchdowns.

"It's really sad," former Nebraska coach Frank Solich said. "Great kid. Huge heart in everything he did. I enjoyed being around him, I enjoyed coaching him and I think the players enjoyed being around him. He was a warrior.

"The perfect I-back to have a fullback in front of you. You could run I-formation all day long with that combination. He was a true I-formation tailback. He'd give you everything he had."

Diedrick was a third round pick in the 2002 CFL draft, but ultimately decided to return to school. He later signed a contract with the Chargers as an undrafted free agent. He also had stint with the Green Bay Packers, appearing in preseason games. He played in one regular season NFL game with Washington in 2004. 

After a stint with the CFL's Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 2013, Diedrick returned to the Alouettes for his final season in 2014. During the 2014 season he was diagnosed with hepatosplenic gamma-delta T-cell lymphoma, an aggressive form of the disease.

"We’re saddened to learn of the passing of former Alouettes running back Dahrran Diedrick. Our deepest condolences go out to Dahrran’s family, friends and former teammate," the Alouettes wrote in a tribute to the former running back.

CFL Commissioner Randy Ambrosie also shared his condolences.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the friends, family, and former coaches and teammates of Dahrran Diedrick during this difficult time," Ambrosie wrote in a tweet on Saturday. "Another life tragically cut short by cancer."

Diedrick finished his CFL career with for 872 rushing yards on 179 carries and six touchdowns.

Former President Donald Trump on Saturday says he was proud to be "the most pro-life president" in U.S. history as religious conservatives marked the first anniversary of the Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v Wade.

Trump was speaking before the Faith & Freedom Coalition Gala in Washington D.C., and noted that he was speaking on the one year anniversary of the Dobbs v Jackson ruling. 

In that ruling, the conservative majority overturned Roe v Wade -- which in 1973 ruled that a right to have an abortion was protected by the Constitution. Since the Dobbs ruling a number of laws limiting abortions have been passed at state level.

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Trump has been criticized by some pro-life advocates after he called Florida's law limiting abortion to the first six weeks of pregnancy "too harsh." 

On Saturday, he addressed those who view him as insufficiently pro-life through a story of a woman who defended him to other conservatives by saying "his guy ended Roe v Wade."

Even though the ruling came in 2022 after he left the White House, Trump has been attributed with impacting the decision by his appointment of three conservative justices to the Supreme Court during his time in office. 

Trump welcomed the comparison.

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"And I sort of said that myself, actually. But I'm proud to be the most pro-life president in American history," he said.

"From my first day in office, I took historic action to protect the unborn, very historic. Nobody else did anything near what we did," he said.

Trump cited moves including reinstating the Mexico City policy — which barred federal funding going to organizations abroad that perform abortions.

He also took aim at pro-abortion activists, accusing them of wanting "unlimited abortion on demand and even executing babies after birth."

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"They are the radical people when they're willing to kill a child after birth, they're willing to take it beyond the nine months. They are the radical people. They are the people that are really in trouble with the Lord," he said.

He also emphasized the pro-life message that it often put forward by Christians that all life is sacred — even the lives of those who have not yet been born. 

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"Every child, born or unborn, is a sacred gift from God," he said.