Fall camps are opening around college football, marking a turn in preparations for the 2017 season from summer workouts to live practice. Since arriving at Alabama in 2007, Nick Saban has made the Crimson Tide a perennial title contender and a consistent producer of top NFL picks. But Saban has coached elite pro talent for decades, and as such, we've compiled a look at the best of the bunch.
Our All-Nick Saban team includes guys who played under Saban during his head-coaching stops at Toledo, Michigan State, LSU, the Miami Dolphins and Alabama. Players were chosen on the strength of their NFL careers rather than college accomplishments. The depth of pro talent Saban has directed as a head coach is nothing short of remarkable. Among the top players we didn't have room to recognize: Amari Cooper, Plaxico Burress, C.J. Mosley, Dont'a Hightower, Vonnie Holliday and more. Following each name is the player's Saban-coached team, and his years under Saban.
Quarterback: Daunte Culpepper (Miami Dolphins, 2006)
Naming Culpepper the All-Saban quarterback has a twist of irony, considering the circumstances of their only season together. Saban traded for the former Minnesota Vikings star, who was coming off a knee injury the previous year. But after the team got off to a 1-3 start, Saban benched him due to injury concerns and amid reports of a practice argument between the two. Saban has also pointed out more than once that he preferred to sign Drew Brees over trading for Culpepper anyway, but that Dolphins doctors had significant concerns about Brees' shoulder. All that aside, Culpepper unquestionably had a better pro career than any other Saban quarterback, with three Pro Bowls among his seven seasons in Minnesota.
Running back: Ricky Williams (Miami Dolphins, 2005)
Williams' time with Saban came at the peak of his career troubles. The back only played 12 games in 2005 due to a four-game suspension. Soon after the season, he was suspended for the entire 2006 season -- Saban's second and last with the Dolphins -- due to another NFL drug policy violation. Nevertheless, his 10,009 career yards make him the obvious choice here. Dolphins fans saw Williams at his best in 2002, when he led the NFL with 1,853 yards and scored 16 touchdowns.
Wide receiver: Julio Jones (Alabama, 2008-2010)
If Jones isn't the best receiver in the NFL, he's squarely in the conversation. The Atlanta Falcons star has been everything the club hoped for when it traded up to make him a top-10 pick in 2011, as he's averaged more than 100 catches and 1,600 receiving yards over the last three seasons. Jones was a three-year star for the Crimson Tide and was part of Saban's first national championship at the school.
Wide receiver: Muhsin Muhammad (Michigan State, 1995)
Over a 14-year NFL career, Muhammad led the NFL in catches one year (102 in 2000), receiving yards another year (1,405 in 2004) and was a consistent performer for the Carolina Panthers and Chicago Bears. He finished his career with 860 catches, 62 touchdowns and a pair of Pro Bowls. He played only one year under Saban -- his last at Michigan State and Saban's first -- and Saban has in the past used Muhammad as an example of the positives that can come from giving players with disciplinary problems a second chance.
Wide receiver: Derrick Mason (Michigan State, 1995-96)
Mason's 12,061 career receiving yards are tied for 24th all-time, putting him ahead of such names as Michael Irvin and Calvin Johnson. He logged 15 years in the NFL, almost all of them with the Tennessee Titans and Baltimore Ravens, with Pro Bowl selections in 2000 and 2003 as a Titan. He played for Saban at MSU for two years and was a teammate of Muhammad's for one of those.
Tight end: Randy McMichael (Miami Dolphins, 2005-06)
The tight end choice was a relatively easy one. McMichael's three-team run as a pro spanned 11 seasons, and he posted two of his best years under Saban with the Dolphins. He hit 60-plus catches in 2005 and '06, posting a career-high five touchdowns in '05. McMichael finished his career with 426 catches for 4,539 yards and 24 touchdowns.
Left tackle: Flozell Adams (Michigan State, 1995-97)
At 6-foot-7 and 335 pounds, Adams' gargantuan size spawned the nickname "Flozell the Hotel." He was a second-round draft pick of the Dallas Cowboys in 1998 and went on to play 13 pro seasons, 12 of them in Dallas. Adams was named to five Pro Bowls in a six-year stretch from 2003 to '08. In his final pro season, Adams reached Super Bowl XLV with the AFC champion Pittsburgh Steelers, losing a tight game to the Green Bay Packers.
Left guard: Andy McCollum (Toledo, 1990)
The only member of the All-Saban team from Saban's one season as head coach at Toledo, McCollum played for Saban as a sophomore in 1990. He had a 14-year career in the NFL while making 159 career starts, primarily at center, but he played enough at left guard to get the All-Saban nod at either spot. McCollum was on the St. Louis Rams team that won Super Bowl XXXIV.
Center: Ryan Kelly (Alabama, 2011-15)
Kelly's rookie year gave the Indianapolis Colts every reason to believe they made the right move with the No. 18 overall pick of the 2016 NFL Draft. He didn't allow a sack all season, and he was named to NFL.com analyst Elliott Harrison's All-Under 25 team. Kelly started for three seasons at Alabama under Saban and won the Rimington Trophy as college football's top center in 2015.
Right guard: Stephen Peterman (LSU, 2000-03)
Although injuries wiped out Peterman's short run with his first NFL club, the Dallas Cowboys, he went on to play seven seasons with the Detroit Lions and made 86 career starts, playing his last three years without missing a game. He was a three-year starter for Saban and a two-time All-SEC player at LSU.
Right tackle: Andrew Whitworth (LSU, 2001-2004)
Yes, Whitworth plays on the left side, but for the purposes of the All-Saban team, we'd rather move him to right tackle than leave him unrecognized, because he's that much better than other right tackle options. After starting for three of Saban's five offensive lines at LSU, Whitworth was a second-round pick of the Bengals. He's a three-time Pro Bowler entering his 12th NFL season. With 164 career starts under his belt, he left the Bengals in the offseason to join the Los Angeles Rams.
Defensive line: Kyle Williams (LSU, 2002-2004)
Williams has been a fixture on the Buffalo Bills at defensive tackle for 11 years, making five Pro Bowls. Not bad for a former fifth-round pick. Williams recorded a career-high 10.5 sacks in 2013 amid a stretch of three consecutive Pro Bowl seasons. At LSU, he started for three years, two under Saban.
Defensive line: Kevin Carter (Miami Dolphins, 2005-06)
Saban added Carter as a free agent a few months after taking the Dolphins coaching job, and he started every game of Saban's two-year term in Miami. Carter's term in Miami was only two years, as well. He notched 104.5 career sacks and made two Pro Bowls, one with the St. Louis Rams and another as a Tennessee Titan.
Defensive line: Dan Wilkinson (Miami Dolphins, 2006)
The book on Wilkinson's NFL career was all but closed by the time he appeared on one of Saban's rosters in 2006; it was his final pro season, and he contributed very little as a backup. Weight problems were an issue for Wilkinson, but "Big Daddy" nevertheless lasted 13 years in the NFL and made at least five sacks in each of his first six pro seasons. And as career highlights go, 88-yard interception returns by interior linemen aren't bad, either.
Linebacker: Jason Taylor (Miami Dolphins, 2005-06)
When he took the Dolphins job, Saban inherited one of the NFL's elite pass rushers in Taylor, who was still in his prime at the time. Taylor made the Pro Bowl six times, twice in Saban's short tenure. He recorded 139.5 career sacks over a 15-year career, 25.5 of them for Saban, and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame earlier this year.
Linebacker: Zach Thomas (Miami Dolphins, 2005-06)
Saban didn't have to worry about the middle linebacker position in his two years in Miami. Not with Thomas earning his sixth and seventh Pro Bowl selections under Saban's watch. Credited with more than 1,000 career tackles, Thomas was named first-team All-Pro five times.
Linebacker: Junior Seau (Miami Dolphins, 2005)
The late Pro Football Hall of Famer played one season under Saban, although it was shortened by an Achilles tendon injury and he was released the following offseason. Nevertheless, Saban called Seau "the most popular guy on the team, the most positive, the most upbeat, most enthusiastic, (and most) energetic." Seau played 20 NFL seasons, mostly with the San Diego Chargers, and was named to a dozen Pro Bowls.
Linebacker: Julian Peterson (Michigan State, 1998-99)
Picked 16th overall in the 2000 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers, Peterson was one of four first-round picks Saban produced at Michigan State. He played six of his 11 NFL seasons with the 49ers, making two Pro Bowls in San Francisco and three more as a member of the Seattle Seahawks. Peterson was a two-year player for Saban at Michigan State as a junior college transfer.
Cornerback: Sam Madison (Miami Dolphins, 2005)
The careers of Madison and Saban intersected for only one season, Madison's last year with the Dolphins in 2005. It marked the end of an impressive nine-year run in Miami for Madison, during which he was selected for four Pro Bowls and named first-team All-Pro twice. Of 38 career interceptions, his 31 in Miami rank third in franchise history.
Cornerback: Corey Webster (LSU, 2001-04)
The New York Giants made Webster a second-round pick in 2005 and got a long-term starter in return, one who spent his entire nine-year career with the club. Webster was a two-time Super Bowl champion with the Giants and logged 20 career interceptions. He played his entire college career under Saban, himself a former defensive back who is renowned for his expertise in coaching DBs. Webster was a two-time first-team All-American for the Tigers.
Safety: Ryan Clark (LSU, 2000-01)
Clark was definitely one who scouts missed on, as he went undrafted in 2002 before embarking on an NFL career that lasted 13 seasons. He flourished as a free safety with the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he won a Super Bowl title and also was named to a Pro Bowl in 2011. Clark played two seasons under Saban at LSU.
Safety: Landon Collins (Alabama, 2012-14)
Collins made a quantum leap from his first pro season to his second, emerging as one of the NFL's elite young defenders. He was named first-team All-Pro after making five interceptions and four sacks for the Giants in 2016. He was also named the No. 28-ranked player in the league, as voted by players, in the NFL's Top 100 list. He was a two-year starter at Alabama and the first pick of the second round by the Giants in the 2015 NFL Draft.
Punter: Donnie Jones (LSU, 2000-03; Miami Dolphins 2005-06)
Jones punted for 13 seasons in the NFL and averaged 45.5 yards for his career. He punted for five NFL clubs, including Saban's Dolphins teams. In 2008, he led the NFL with a punting average of 50.0 yards for the St. Louis Rams -- he's one of six punters in NFL history to average 50-plus yards in a single season (Shane Lechler did it twice). Prior to that, Jones was the starting punter for four of Saban's five years at LSU.
Kicker: Paul Edinger (Michigan State, 1996-99)
Edinger was a sixth-round pick of the Chicago Bears in 2000 and was the Bears' starting kicker for five seasons. From there, he kicked for the Minnesota Vikings in 2005, his final NFL season. For his career, he connected on 67 percent of his FG attempts from 50-plus yards, and he never missed an extra point (164 of 164). Edinger was a two-year starter for Saban at Michigan State.
Returns: Wes Welker (Miami Dolphins, 2005-06)
Welker could just as easily be recognized as a wide receiver on the All-Saban team, but he fits nicely as the return man, as well. His three years with the Dolphins, two of which came under Saban, represent his peak career production as both a punt returner and a kickoff returner. He piled up 6,722 career punt- and kick-return yards in the NFL and still holds the NCAA record for career punt return yards (1,761 at Texas Tech).
