Scout has been around as a recruiting network since 2001. We thought it would be a fun exercise to look at the ten very best Scout ranked recruiting classes since the Class of 2002.

The criteria was simple - it was based on the star power of the class combined with accomplishments - wins and championships. The bonus were the NFL prospects each produced.

Of the ten classes below, five were former No. 1 recruiting classes for their respective seasons, with one coming in at No. 2 and a pair of classes coming in at No. 3. Who said rankings don't matter?

On a side note, Ohio State's class of 2013, Scout's top rated recruiting class that year, didn't make the cut simply because it's too soon. But this group of players (Ezekiel Elliot, J.T. Barrett, Joey Bosa, Vonn Bell, Jalin Marshall, etc.) already has a national title and will be gunning for more.

TOP TEN RECRUITING CLASSES IN SCOUT HISTORY

10) LSU Class of 2009 Five Year Record (53-13)

Accomplishments: Lost BCS National Championship Game to Alabama in 2011, 2011 SEC Champions

LSU has had some great recruiting classes and teams under former coach Nick Saban and current coach Les Miles. Several were considered for this exercise like the Tigers class of 2004. LSU came close to winning it all in ’11 but lost a rematch to the Crimson Tide in the title game.

This class won a single SEC Championship and 53 games over a five year period. It was a recruiting class loaded with high profiled prospects. Some lived up to the hype and some did not.

The Tigers had some killers on defense, especially up front with players like Michael Brockers, Sam Montgomery, Chris Davenport and Bennie Logan. Brockers was a first round draft choice (Rams) and Montgomery went in the third round pick (Houston). Logan was also a third rounder (Eagles) while Davenport eventually transferred to Tulane. Defensive tackle Joshua Downs was always a big man in the LSU defensive line rotation.

Barkevious Mingo was an athletic outside linebacker that turned himself into a first round selection by the Cleveland Browns a few years ago. Kevin Minter was one of the top linebacker sin the SEC for the Tigers. He was a second round pick by Arizona. Meanwhile, middle linebacker Lamin Barrow was a fifth round pick by the Broncos.

Cornerback Morris Claiborne emerged as a terrific player in Baton Rouge. He was a first round pick by the Dallas Cowboys. Safey Craig Loston was picked in last year’s draft.

Offensively, Rueben Randle was the headliner. He had a good career for the Tigers and landed in New York as a second round pick by the Giants. The electric Russell Shepard had his moments at LSU but never quite lived up to the hype. Still, he’s playing in Tampa for the Bucs.

Offensive tackle Chris Faulk was one of the SEC’s best offensive linemen before suffering a knee injury in 2013.

9) Auburn Class of 2010

Five Year Record (45-21)

Accomplishments: 2010 BCS National Champions, Lost BCS National Title Game to FSU in 2013, 2010 and 2013 SEC Champions

Gene Chizik is often criticized rather than praised in the job he did at Auburn. He had some outstanding recruiting classes at Auburn, especially his class of 2010.

Of course this group featured quarterback Cam Newton. He led the Tigers to a 2010 national title and had an epic first and only season at Auburn. It was one of the greatest individual campaigns in the history of college football and he won some hardware along the way including the Heisman Trophy. The following season Newton became the first overall pick of the NFL Draft by the Carolina Panthers.

This class was more than just Newton. Corey Lemonier, Shon Coleman, Ryan Smith, Brandon Mosley, Chris Davis, Michael Dyer, Steven Clark, Chad Slade, LaDarius Owens, Jonathon Mincy, Jake Holland, Cody Parkey, Craig Sanders and Ryan White were all key contributors.

Lemonier, Mosley, Davis and Parkey also made it to the NFL.

8) Oklahoma Class of 2006

Five Year Record (54-14)

Accomplishments: Lost 2008 BCS National Championship Game to Florida, Won Big 12 Championship in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2010. This Sooner class went to five straight BCS games, finishing 2-3.

Sam Bradford was one of the top quarterbacks of the last decade. He had a two-year run as a red-shirt freshman and sophomore where he threw for over 7,800 yards and 86 touchdown passes. He won the Heisman Trophy and became the first player selected overall in the 2010 NFL Draft by the Rams.

Drafted No. 3 overall (Tampa Bay) in 2009 was OU defensive tackle Gerald McCoy. Like Bradford he had a stellar Sooner career, finishing as a three-year starter (started 40 games), first team All-American and Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year.

Offensive tackle Trent Williams was drafted No. 4 overall (Washington) in 2010. He was roughly a four-year starter out of the gate for the Sooners at right tackle.

Also putting up huge numbers in Norman was DeMarco Murray. This running back finished as the Oklahoma all-time leader in touchdowns. Murray was dominant as a runner, receiver out of the backfield and in special teams after red-shirting his first season. He was a third round selection by Dallas.

Tight end Jermaine Gresham was the 21st pick of the first round by the Bengals in 2010. In 2007 and 2008 caught over 100 passes and was one of the best Sooner tight ends ever.

Dominique Franks, Quinton Carter, Jeremy Beal, Adrian Taylor, Chase Beeler, Mossis Madu, Eric Mensik, Sherrone Moore, Jonathan Nelson, and Cory Brandon were all contributing members of their class of 2006. Many of these names also made it to the NFL.

7) Florida Class of 2007

Five Year Record (50-17)

Accomplishments: 2008 BCS National Champions, 2008 SEC Champions

This was a loaded class that won the national title in 2009 and lost to Alabama the following year in the SEC Championship Game.

Urban Meyer and his staff did an outstanding job with this group. The nucleus of this class are the teammates from Lakeland (Fla.) high school – Michael and Maurkice Pouncey, Chris Rainey and Ahmad Black were all outstanding players for the Gators.

Cornerback Joe Haden was part of this class. So too was safety Major Wright, Jaye Howard and tight end Aaron Hernandez. Carlos Dunlap was one of the most athletic defensive ends in the country.

The scary guy of this class was Cam Newton. What could have been at Florida had he stayed? Instead, he transferred out, played a year at Blinn Community College before taking Auburn to a national title.

This class didn’t have Tim Tebow or Percy Harvin but as a whole from top to bottom it was a better group, though they only won one title compared to Tebow/Harvin's two.

Haden, Dunlap and both Pouncey’s went on to be first round draft picks. Hernandez (4th round), Howard (4th round), Rainey (5th round), and Black (5th round) were also selected in the NFL Draft.

6) Texas Class of 2002

Five Year Record (55-9)

Accomplishments: 2005 BCS National Champions, 2005 Big 12 Champions, 2004 & 2005 Rose Bowl Champions

The class was 28 strong, led by quarterback Vince Young, running back Selvin Young, tight end David Thomas, offensive tackle Justin Blalock, offensive guard Kasey Studdard and center Lyle Sendlein, defensive tackle Rodrique Wright, linebacker Brian Robinson and safety Aaron Ross.

Young was by far the most prolific of the class and one of the great Longhorns in Texas football history. He put on his Superman cape and helped Mack Brown and the Longhorns to an incredible national title win over powerhouse USC. Texas won a classic 41-38. Young finished second for the Heisman Trophy and finished his career 30-2 as a starter.

The program also got major contributions for Young’s ’02 classmates. Blalock become the first Texas player to have 50 consecutive starts. Wright started his last 45 game and was a Lombardi Award finalist. Ross won the Jim Thorpe Award while Thomas set school records for a tight end in receptions, yards and touchdowns. Sendlein and Studdard had 64 starts between them at center and guard respectively. Robinson finished his career with 41 tackles for a loss and six career blocked kicked while Young had over 3,000 all-purpose yards and 29 scores.

In terms of the NFL, Young was the third pick overall in the 2006 NFL Draft. Ross was also a first round pick (N.Y Giants). Blalock was a second round pick (Atlanta), Thomas a third round pick (New England), Robinson a fourth round pick (Minnesota), Studdard a six round pick (Houston), Wright a seventh round pick (Miami) while Young and Sendlein were free agents.

Seven members of the class eventually left the program. Wide receiver Marquis Johnson was the highest profiled signee that busted out.

5) FSU Class of 2011

Four Year Record (48-7)

Accomplishments: 2013 BCS National Champions, 2012, 2013, 2014 ACC Champions

What an incredible run Jimbo Fisher and Florida State is currently having in Tallahassee. It’s all because of the way Fisher’s staff has recruited since he took over the reigns from Bobby Bowden. The Seminoles have consistently been at the top of the recruiting rankings over the past four to five years. I mean they have been awesome.

This 2011 FSU class is so deep and so talented. Wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin was a huge force on the outside during the title run last season and was a first round selection in the 2014 NFL Draft. Rashad Greene was a four-year wonder for the ‘Noles and he will be drafted very high in this upcoming draft. He will leave Tallahassee holding a handful of school records for the position. Then you have Nick O’Leary, who has been a steady force in the FSU offense for quarterback Jameis Winston. He, like Greene, should have a prosperous career on Sundays.

Another offensive weapon for the Seminoles from this class was running back Devonta Freeman. It was running back by committee and he certainly helped carry the load. Freeman was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons. Karlos Williams came in as a five-star safety prospect but made the conversion to running back. At times, he really carried the rock well and was good on the offensive side of the ball.

Offensive linemen Bobby Hart, Tre Jackson and Josue Matias were consistently good up front and all will be NFL guys.

Timmy Jernigan was a brute force on the Florida State defensive front, anchoring the Seminole defense before he turned pro this past year. He was a second round pick by the Ravens last May. Defensive end Tank Carradine was another second round pick (San Francisco) last year. He had a stellar 2012 season before injuring his knee. Niles Lawrence-Stample is another big man in the middle of their defense who has played well for this defense.

Linebacker Terrance Smith and safety Tyler Hunter are two other defenders that made major contributions to this team.

This will go down as one of the great Seminole classes of all-time.

4) Ohio State Class of 2002

Five Year Record (53-10)

Accomplishments: 2002 BCS National Champions, 2002 Big 10 Champions, shared Big 10 Title in 2005, 2006 Big 10 Champions, 4-1 in Bowl Games including 3-0 in Fiesta Bowl, Lost 2006 BCS National Title Game to Florida

This was truly an amazing recruiting class put together by Buckeyes coach Jim Tressel. It’s a class that won a BCS National Championship [over Miami] and played for another their final season [lost to Florida in 2006]. They did it all.

Perhaps the single most impressive thing about this class was the attrition, or lack of. There was virtually none, which is unheard of. Cornerback Michael Roberts left Ohio State for Indiana State after three seasons in Columbus.

The star of the class was running back Maurice Clarrett. He rushed for a school freshman record 1,237 yards and 18 scores in their 2002 title season and had a big game against the Hurricanes. He only played that one season for the Buckeyes but oh what a season he had.

Quarterback Troy Smith won the 2006 Heisman Trophy. That year he led Ohio State to the title game against the Gators. Ohio State had a star-studded linebacking corps from this class in A.J. Hawk, Bobby Carpentar and Mike D’Andrea. Defensive tackle Quinn Pitcock was an all Big 10 member while another d-tackle, Joel Penton, won the Weurffel Award given to the player that best exemplifies community service, athletics and academics. Wide receiver Santonio Holmes caught 235 passes for 2,295 yards and 25 scores while Nick Mangold evolved into one of the game’s top offensive linemen.

This Ohio State recruiting class produced four No. 1 draft picks in Holmes, Mangold, Hawk and Carpentar. Smith (5th round), Pitcock (3rd round), Roy Hall (5th round), Nate Salley (4th round), Rob Sims (4th round), Doug Datish (6th), and Jay Richardson (5th) were all drafted while E.J. Underwood and Brandon Mitchell were free agents. Amazingly, 15 of the 24 recruits in this class made it to the NFL.

3) Alabama Class of 2008

Five Year Record (61-7)

Accomplishments: 2009, 2010 and 2012 BCS National Champions, 2009 and 2012 SEC Champions

This was Nick Saban’s first elite recruiting class in Tuscaloosa. This group was part of three national titles and two SEC titles. Along the way Alabama won 61 games over the next five seasons.

Headlining this ’08 Alabama class was none other than wide receiver Julio Jones, one of the most talented players regardless of position in Crimson Tide history. Jones was three and out and drafted by the Falcons in the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft. Atlanta gave a King’s ransom to the Browns to move up and land this superstar.

Three other NFL first round draft picks were part of this class in running back Mark Ingram, safety Mark Barron and linebacker Dont’a Hightower. Of course Ingram went on to win the Heisman Trophy, a first for a school and program that has won everything else.

Other key contributors from this class were offensive linemen Barrett Jones and Brad Smelley, nose tackle Terrence Cody, linebacker Marcel Harris, tight end Michael Williams, and safety Robert Lester. Jones is considered one of the top offensive linemen in Alabama history. All of these players went on to the NFL.

What’s interesting with this class is that each recruit could be classified as feast or famine. Many feel Destin Hood could have been the best of the bunch but he went the pro baseball route.

2) USC Class of 2003

Five Year Record (57-6)

Accomplishments: 2004 BCS National Champions, Tied for Pac 10 title in 2006 and 2007 and won Pac 10 title in 2003, 2004, and 2005. Won one Orange Bowl, won three Rose Bowls and lost a Rose Bowl.

The 2002 and 2003 recruiting classes were awesome for Pete Carroll and USC. They had identical 57-6 five-year records. But the 2002 class didn’t have the star power.

The ’03 Trojan class featured eventually Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush. He turned into one of the most exciting college football players of all-time. Running backs LenDale White and Chanuncey Washington were also part of this class. Wide receiver Steve Smith became the guy for quarterback Matt Leinart and was the team’s MVP in ’06. Don’t forget about quarterback John David Booty who waited very patiently for his turn to be the team’s signal caller.

The program was loaded in the trenches with players like Sam Baker, Ryan Kalil, Lawrence Jackson, Sedrick Ellis, and Fili Moloa. Terrell Thomas was also a very talented cornerback.

In all there were four NFL first round picks from this class (Bush, Ellis, Baker and Jackson) and five second round picks in Smith, White, Thomas, Moloa and Kalil. There were four more drafts picks and two additional free agents from this outstanding class.

1) Alabama Class of 2009

Five Year Record (60-7)

Accomplishments: 2009, 2010 and 2012 BCS National Champions, 2009 and 2012 SEC Champions

Like the ’08 Alabama class this ’09 group was part of three national titles. What separates the two is the depth of this one. Plain and simple more prospects from 2009 contributed in a bigger way and there were more NFL Draft picks, if you can believe that.

Quarterback A.J. McCarron became one of the schools very best ever signal callers and Alabama’s all-time leading passer. Running backs Trent Richardson and Eddie Lacy came in together and they played their roles in a huge way. When it was their turn they did their jobs effectively. Richardson was a first round pick (Cleveland) and Lacey (Green Bay) became a second.

Three offensive linemen became first round picks in offensive guard Chance Warmack (Tennessee), and offensive tackles D.J. Fluker (San Diego) and James Carpentar (Seattle).

There’s a fifth first round pick from this class in cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick (Cincinnati).

Other 2009 Alabama class standouts were linebacker Nico Johnson, wide receivers Kenny Bell and Kevin Norwood, offensive guard Anthony Steen, and defensive linemen Quinton Dial and Ed Stinson. All of these players made it to the NFL.