Nick Saban: Master at Producing First Round Talent

He began his head coaching career in 1990 at the University of Toledo, and since then, Nick Saban has shown that he has the ability to develop NFL talent.

What all children who play football dream of is hearing their names called out during the NFL Draft, and nothing is more invigorating than hearing your name within the first 32 picks of the draft. And if you're a child wanting to make it to that level, Nick Saban is the man who can get you there.

I want to lay some ground rules about a coach sending players into the draft, because there are all kinds of variables and influences that one could include to show any different number of players, so what we'll just focus on is the players who were drafted from the respective school at which Saban was located at the time, or the draft that happened immediately after Saban's last season with each respective team.

He spent one year at Toledo, obviously not long enough to develop and produce first round talent, but when he took his talents to East Lansing, Michigan to coach the Spartans of Michigan State from 1995-1999, he did have three players get drafted in the first round (1999, Dimitrius Underwood, defensive end; 2000, Plaxico Burress, wide receiver; 2000, Julian Peterson, outside linebacker).

This may sound contradictory to my previous statement that he is a master at developing first round talent, but up until 1999, Saban had only been a collegiate head coach for six seasons. He was still relatively new in the business. So what happens when experience meets success?

Welcome to the SEC, Mr. Saban.

He began his stint at LSU in 2000, and with that fertile recruiting ground, it was quite clear that it wasn't a matter of "if" he would develop NFL talent, it was just a matter of "when" it would happen.

Just like at Michigan State, it took Saban a few years to produce a first round pick. In the 2004 draft, LSU receiver Michael Clayton was drafted 15th overall, being the next first round pick under the guidance of Saban after Burress in 2000.

Saban left LSU after the 2004 season, but not before sending one of the best defensive linemen in LSU history (and now current SEC Network analyst), Marcus Spears, to the NFL as the 20th overall pick to the Dallas Cowboys.

At this point in his career, Saban has put five players in the first round alone (40 overall between Toledo, Michigan State, and LSU).

Again, you may be saying, "It's only five players in the first round. That may be good, but it's not exceptional."

However, he hasn't even gotten to Tuscaloosa yet, mind you.

As a fairly new head coach (only 11 seasons as head coach), Saban recruited, developed, and sent players to the NFL Draft on a regular basis. So would he get better at this element of the job as a veteran collegiate coach?

I think we all know the answer to that question.

After his first season in Tuscaloosa, not a single Alabama player was drafted in the 2008 NFL Draft.

Not. A. Single. Player.

However, give Nick Saban time, and he has proven that he can get players to the NFL.

From the 2009 draft until now, Saban has absolutely bombarded the NFL with first round talent, and draft picks in general.

Think about this for a few moments: Nick Saban, even after Alabama completely whiffing on the 2008 draft, has had 41 Tide players have their names called since 2009, and a ridiculous 16 players in the first round alone!

Doing some quick math, that is 21 first round draft picks during his head coaching tenure and 81 total picks.

So in short, if you're a young football player looking to make it to the NFL, I'd highly suggest playing for Nick Saban.

With the possibility of Landon Collins and Amari Cooper getting selected in the first round of this year's draft, those numbers could continue to climb; and don't expect it to fall off any time soon.