Saban arrived at LSU as the school was in the midst of a slide. LSU had been in the AP Top 25 since the beginning of the 1996 season, finishing the 1996 season at #12 (10-2) and the 1997 season at #13 (9-3). In 1998, LSU climbed to #6 before losing to #12 Georgia (10/3/98). The next week, the #11-ranked Tigers lost to the #6 Florida Gators (10/10/98). After that, LSU went into a tail-spin, losing 13 of the next 17 games, including losses to a #10 Notre Dame (11/21/98), #13 Arkansas (11/27/98), #10 Georgia (10/2/99), #8 Florida (10/9/99), #12 Mississippi State (10/23/99), #25 Ole Miss (10/31/99), and #12 Alabama (11/6/99). LSU's only solid wins during that time were against #24 Mississippi State (10/24/98) and against #17 Arkansas (11/26/99).
The good news for Saban was that he inherited a team rich with talent. During Saban's five seasons at LSU (2000-2004), he had 24 players that were selected in the NFL draft. Of these 24 players, 17 were already on the LSU roster before Saban ever coached a game as a Tiger (Seniors: T Brandon Winey, C Louis Williams, and TE Robert Royal; Juniors: QB Josh Booty, QB Rohan Davey, DE Jarvis Green, and DT Howard Green; Sophomores: RB Domanick Davis, WR Josh Reed, LB Bradie James, and CB Norman LeJeune; Freshman: RB LaBrandon Toefield, RB Devery Henderson, CB Corey Webster, LB Lionel Turner, DT Chad Lavalais, and P Donnie Jones.).
In addition to the players that got drafted under Saban, Saban also had 10 other players who, although they weren't drafted, all ended up on the roster of an NFL team. All 10 of these players were already on the LSU roster before Saban ever coached a game as a Tiger (Seniors: RB Tommy Banks and CB Fred Booker; Juniors: QB Craig Nall, WR Ed Dangerfield, T Jason Baggett, and DB Ryan Clark; Sophomores: DE Kenderick Allen and LB Trev Faulk; Freshman: QB Marcus Randall, RB Randall Gay, CB Adrian Mayes and TE Eric Edwards).
Also, Saban inherited some other major talent on the LSU roster before he ever coached a game for the Tigers (Seniors: WR Abram Booty and WR Reggie Robinson; Sophomores: T Brad Smalling, S Damien James, and CB Demetrius Hookfin).
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