2 Alabama Classes Crack 'Most Impressive' List Since 2000
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The Alabama Crimson Tide were pretty much a semi-professional program under former head coach Nick Saban.
Before the NIL system, Saban promised recruits that he could help develop hard-working players into NFL talents.
Saban put many elite players into the NFL. His defensive stars were legendary, but he also had running backs like Derrick Henry and wide receivers like Julio Jones turn into monsters during their time in the league.
Brad Crawford of CBS Sports recently ranked the most impressive classes from 2000. Two Alabama teams made the list.
The highest-ranked team was from 2021, when 10 players made the league. Jaylen Waddle, Patrick Surtain II, DeVonta Smith, Mac Jones, Alex Leatherwood and Najee Harris went in the first round. He ranked that Alabama class at No. 5.
"Three players who finished in the top five of Heisman Trophy voting were Day 1 picks, making Alabama's 2020 roster one of college football's most star-studded groups in history.
"The Crimson Tide's perfect season was made possible by Smith's brilliance at wide receiver and Jones, who had an ultra-efficient campaign at quarterback during his only season as the starter.
"Surtain went on to win the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2024, while Smith and Landon Dickerson earned Super Bowl rings with the Philadelphia Eagles."
The 2018 class with 13 draft selections was ranked at No. 7. Minkah Fitzpatrick, Daron Payne, Rashaan Evans and Calvin Ridley went in the first round of that draft.
"During a multi-year stretch in which more than a dozen Day 1 picks and future Pro Bowlers were produced on the recruiting conveyor belt in Tuscaloosa, this marked a peak for Saban's program as an NFL draft factory," Crawford wrote.
"No one was more convincing during the recruiting process than Saban, whose proof was recent draft history and inside Alabama's trophy room."
Saban's six national championships are a testament to how good he was at picking talented players to come to Alabama.
While Saban and his staff had to develop those players, the Crimson Tide could not have dominated the sport for so long had the roster not been filled with NFL talent. Those Alabama players went on to compete for championships at the NFL level.
It remains to be seen if head coach Kalen DeBoer can eventually get Alabama close to that kind of level.
The Crimson Tide have good players, but NIL has created issues for the school in recent history, as SEC and Big Ten teams with deep pockets land elite players.
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