LSU Football Recruiting: The 10 Greatest Recruiting Classes of All Time

LSU has been known as one of the top college football powerhouses over the past decade.

When a team has great success, then great players want to be part of that success, which in return leads to expectational recruiting classes.

That has been the case as of late with the LSU Tigers. But what about before recruiting became such a big deal?

Did LSU land any exceptional recruiting classes back in the day?

Let's break down the top 10 recruiting classes in LSU history. 

10. 1984

LSU was in a transition era during this time period with new coach Bill Arnsparger at the helm.

But Arnsparger made a big splash in 1984, landing both Nacho Albergamo and Eric Andolsek in his first recruiting class. 

Andolsek went on to be one of the greatest offensive linemen in LSU history, being named a freshman All American his first year and an All-SEC member in 1986 and 1987.

His partner in crime, Albergamo was named a first-team All-American in his senior season when he stared at center for the Tigers.

This was considered a great class at the time due to those two studs signing on with Arnsparger and the Tigers.

9. 2011

Les Miles' most recent recruiting class was a true gem.

In fact, the Tigers landed three separate 5-star recruits in this class, which was the second-most of any team in the nation last year.

But the beauty of this class is that the top player who contributed the most this season, receiver Odell Beckham, wasn't even one of those five star recruits.

This class should continue to climb up this list in time.

8. 1992

This 1992 class was loaded from top to bottom, and while none of these players went on to become NFL stars, there were a ton of players who at least made it to the league.

David LaFleur was the treasure of this class, but he was joined by the likes of Gabe Northern, Jamie Howard, James Gilliard and Ben Bordelon.

These freshman recruits helped build LSU into a dominant team by the time they were upper classmen.

7. 2010

This class came to LSU just two years ago, but the results on the field have been more then evident, especially during this year's 13-1 season.

Spencer Ware was the prize of this class, and he was great this season out of the Tigers' backfield, leading the team with nine rushing touchdowns.

Tyrann Mathieu and Eric Reid were also in this recruting class. Mathieu was the best defensive back in the nation this season, and Reid is arguably the most-feared safety in college football.

This class was exceptional at the time and will move up this list soon.

6. 1995

Gerry DiNardo was hired in December of 1994 and had next to no time to get his next recruiting class in place.

What a job he did, and it all started by grabbing All-American running back Kevin Faulk.

Faulk was arguably the most underrated running back in college football history, posting eye-popping stats during his time at LSU against top-tier competition.

In addition to Faulk, this class also included Anthony "Booger" McFarland who was an All-American while at LSU and a standout defensive stud at the NFL level. 

5. 2007

Les Miles' 2007 recruiting class was so good that it featured the top player in the nation at two separate positions.

Terrance Toliver was the No.1 receiver recruit in the nation, and Chadd Jones was the top defensive back talent in the nation in 2007, and both signed on to play with LSU.

Also included in that class was Drake Nevis, Stevan Ridley and Joseph Barksdale, all of whom were rookies playing in the NFL this season.

This was a great class with a ton of talent. 

4. 2001

This was Nick Saban's second recruiting class at LSU, and boy, was it ever a special one.

In fact, it can be said with confidence that this was the best recruiting class that LSU had probably even seen up to that point in time.

This group included the likes of: Joseph Addai, Michael Clayton, Marquise Hill, Rudy Niswanger, Marcus Spears and Ben Wilkerson.

This group right here was the core of LSU's 2003 national title team.

3. 2009

This 2009 class was the best in the Les Miles era thus far, and that's saying a lot considering how good LSU has been over the past couple of years.

This class featured four 5-star commits and was ranked as the No. 2 recruiting class in the nation by Rivals.com, trailing only Alabama.

Those 5-star recruits included: Rueben Randle, Russell Sherpard, Craig Loston and Chris Davenport.

Amazingly enough, this class only featured a total of nine players who weren't 4-star or 5-star recruits, one of which is Morris Claiborne, who's expected to be a top-five pick in this April's NFL draft.

The core of this class helped lead the way to LSU's memorable 13-1 season.

2. 2004

This 2004 class was one that will be remembered for a long time at LSU.

Several publications had this class rated as the No. 1 class in the nation as it included 15 4-star or 5-star recruits according to Rivals.com.

To give you an idea of how good this class was, five members of this class—Glenn Dorsey, Ali Highsmith, Herman Johnson, Craig Steltz and Claude Wroten—all went on to be named All-Americans during their time at LSU.

This class made up the core of the 2007 national title team. 

1. 2003

Not only was this the top recruiting class in the country in 2003, it might have been one of the top classes in all of college football over the past decade.

According to Rivals.com, this LSU class featured 18 4-star or 5-star recruits, which was the most of any team in the nation.

This list of recruits includes the likes of: JaMarcus Russell, Dwayne Bowe, Buster Davis, Matt Flynn and LaRon Landry.

Nick Saban is known as the best recruiting coach in all of college football, and right here is evidence of just that.

The Tigers have had many great classes, but this was simply the best of the best.