Ranking the 10 best LSU football players from Nick Saban's LSU tenure

USA Today

16 hours ago

Nick Saban's tenure as LSU football's head coach revived the program. The 90s were a rough decade in Baton Rouge. The 80s were up and down, too.
When Saban arrived, he saw LSU as a sleeping giant. An SEC program surrounded by talent. It didn't take Saban long to get it rolling. Saban went 8-4 in year one. A big turnaround after LSU won just three games the prior season. In 2001, Saban led LSU to double-digit wins.
And in 2003, LSU went 13-1 and won its first national championship of the BCS/College Football Playoff era. It was the Tigers' first national title since 1958.
Saban's LSU legacy is complicated. He stuck around for one more year after the title before taking a job with the Miami Dolphins. After the NFL didn't work out, Saban returned to the college ranks, accepting Alabama's head coaching position.
Saban built Alabama into a dynasty, much at the expense of LSU. For most of Saban's tenure in Tuscaloosa, the Tide got the best of the Tigers. LSU won two more national titles in that span, but Saban and Alabama won six.
After the 2023 college football season, Saban retired. With Saban gone, LSU fans could once again look back on Saban's LSU tenure with fond memories. Today, we'll rank the top 10 players of the Saban era at LSU.
10. Trev Faulk, linebacker
Faulk's first season at LSU was 1999, one year before Nick Saban took over.
In 2000, Faulk emerged as a key difference maker in year one under Saban. Faulk was First-Team All-SEC with 133 tackles and nine tackles for loss. Faulk's four fumble recoveries in 2000 rank fourth in LSU history.
In 2001, Faulk earned All-SEC honors again. Faulk finished his LSU career with 194 tackles and 16.5 tackles for loss.
9. Stephen Peterman, offensive line
Peterman began his LSU career on the defensive side of the ball, but made the switch to offense in 2002. That paid off for the Tigers as Peterman became one of the best offensive linemen in the SEC. He was First-Team All-SEC in 2002.
In 2003, Peterman was one of the best guards in the country. The athletic tools that allowed him to play defense and tight end in high school let him thrive on the interior offensive line.
Peterman was named First-Team All-American by Sports Illustrated, ESPN, and Sporting News.
8. Andrew Whitworth, offensive line
Whitworth arrived at LSU in 2001 and took a redshirt. But it didn't take long for Whitworth to carve out a role as a redshirt freshman. He earned a starting tackle job in 2002 and was named First-Team Freshman All-American.
In 2003, he was a key cog on LSU's national title-winning offensive line. The recognition continued to roll in 2004, when Whitworth earned First-Team All-SEC honors. Whitworth played one year under Les Miles in 2005, earning Second-Team All-American recognition from the Walter Camp Foundation.
7. Ben Wilkerson, offensive line
Wilkerson arrived at LSU in 2001 and won the center job as a true freshman. The Sporting News named Wilkerson a Second-Team Freshman All-American.
In 2003, Wilkerson took it up a notch and became one of the best offensive linemen in the country. The AP placed Wilkerson on their Second-Team All-American squad as Wilkerson led LSU's offensive line to a national title. He was First-Team All-SEC, too.
In 2004, Wilkerson capped off his LSU career by winning the Rimington Award, annually given to the top center in the country.
6. Chad Lavalais, defensive line
Lavalais has a strong case to be higher on this list, especially after you glance at his resume. In 2003, Lavalais was named the National Defensive Player of the Year by Sporting News and was a finalist for the Nagurski Award and the Outland Trophy. Simply put, he was one of the best defenders in the country. He racked up 61 tackles, with 16 being tackles for a loss.
Lavalais got after the passer too, with seven sacks on LSU's national title campaign.
Before Lavalais' massive breakout in 2003, he was still a First-Team All-SEC defensive tackle in 2002. In 2000, he was a Third-Team Freshman All-American, per Sporting News.
5. Michael Clayton, wide receiver
With 182 catches in his career, Clayton ranks No. 3 in LSU history. He burst on the scene as a freshman in 2001, averaging 16.0 yards per catch and racking up 754 yards, despite sharing targets with Josh Reed.
Clayton was the leading receiver on LSU's BCS Championship team in 2003, surpassing 1,000 yards and hauling in 78 passes. He scored double-digit touchdowns, too.
To this day, Clayton remains one of the most talented wide receivers to wear an LSU uniform. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers picked Clayton with the No. 15 overall pick in the first round of the 2004 NFL Draft.
4. Bradie James, linebacker
Bradie James' 2002 season remains one of the best we've ever seen from an LSU defender. James set a program single-season record with 154 tackles. That record stands today. With James leading the unit, LSU's defense was one of the nation's best.
James was a four-year contributor at LSU, playing three under Saban. His 418 career tackles sit second in program history, only behind Al Richardson.
James earned All-SEC honors in 2000, 2001, and 2002. Only a select few LSU athletes have earned all-conference honors in three separate seasons. James' final year with LSU was 2002, but he helped set the tone for a defense that would go on to win a national title the next year.
3. Corey Webster, cornerback
LSU made a habit of producing elite defensive backs in the 2000s and 2010s. Wesbter was one of the first and most decorated in the pipeline.
Webster earned First-Team All-American twice in 2003 and 2004. He was a three-time All-SEC defensive back. With 16 career picks, Webster ranks No. 2 in LSU history. As a member of LSU's national title team in 2003, Webster picked off seven passes and broke up 25 passes.
He played a pivotal role in LSU's title win, picking off a pass which led to LSU's first touchdown of the game.
2. Marcus Spears, defensive line
Spears was a difference maker. Few defenders had his combination of size and speed. Those tools led to Spears being a first-round pick in the 2005 NFL Draft after he earned consensus All-American honors in 2004.
Spears was First-Team All-SEC twice and racked up 19 sacks and 34.5 tackles for loss in his LSU career.
Spears was a member of the 2003 national championship squad. His career highlight came in LSU's title-game victory over Oklahoma, where Spears picked off a pass and returned it 20 yards for a score. That play is remembered as one of the most important in LSU history.
1. Josh Reed, wide receiver
Until Malik Nabers broke records in 2023, Josh Reed was the most productive wide receiver in LSU history. A lot of great pass catchers came through LSU under Les Miles and Ed Orgeron, but it took 20 years to unseat Reed at the top of LSU's receiving record books.
Reed won the Biletnikoff in 2001, annually given to the best wide receiver in college football. He was a consensus All-American that season, racking up 1,740 receiving yards, which was an SEC record at the time.
In 2000, Reed caught 65 passes for 1,127 yards and 10 touchdowns. His two-year run from 2000-01 is one of the best stretches in LSU history -- regardless of position. Reed finished his LSU career with 3.064 total yards and 18 total scores.