These Are The 5 Best Defensive Backs for LSU Since 2000

LSU football has seen five coaches in the last 25 seasons. This stretch of time has seen the program's most important moments, including championships and multiple NFL Draft picks, but one trend has transcended every single coach.

That's the success of the cornerback room. Since 2000, LSU has had six consensus All-American selections, 14 total first- or second-team All-American selections, and 17 first- or second-team All-SEC selections.

That's why LSU is DBU.

5. Tre'Davious White (2013–2016)

Tre White — Sep 3, 2016; Green Bay, WI, USA; LSU Tigers cornerback Tre'Davious White (18) intercepts a pass intended for Wisconsin Badgers wide receiver Robert Wheelwright (15) and returns it for a touchdown in the 3rd quarter at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images | Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

After his junior season in 2015, Tre'Davious White turned down the NFL Draft to return for a fourth year, earn his degree and chase becoming an All-American.

He grew up in a poverty-stricken area of North Shreveport and had every financial reason to go pro early. There was no NIL incentive to stay at the time.

White had originally come to LSU as a wide receiver, but switched to cornerback when he realized he wasn't going to unseat Odell Beckham Jr. or Jarvis Landry. It was the right call.

In 2016, Pro Football Focus graded him as the best coverage cornerback in the entire country, allowing only 41.7 percent of targets to be completed. He ended that season as a Consensus All-American and First-team All-SEC selection.

White started 47 consecutive games across four seasons, missing only one game in his entire career. He finished with 34 career pass breakups, six interceptions and four touchdowns on kick and punt returns.

The Buffalo Bills took him 27th overall in 2017. He justified the selection almost immediately, earning First-Team All-Pro honors in 2019 after co-leading the NFL in interceptions.

4. Morris Claiborne (2009–2011)

Mo Claiborne — Dec 3, 2011; Atlanta, GA, USA; LSU Tigers cornerback Morris Claiborne (17) returns a punt for a touchdown during the second half of the 2011 SEC championship game against the Georgia Bulldogs at the Georgia Dome. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

Morris Claiborne's story is overlooked in the LSU cornerback pipeline. He spent three seasons in Baton Rouge, playing in the same secondary as the No. 1 and No. 2 players on this list.

That was all before stepping into the spotlight to win the Jim Thorpe Award himself.

Claiborne built a strong sophomore year in 2010 with five interceptions and second-team All-SEC honors as CB2. But 2011 was something else entirely for him.

As CB1, Claiborne posted six interceptions, led the entire nation in interception return yards, ripped off an iconic 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against West Virginia and capped it with a 45-yard pick-six against Georgia in the SEC Championship Game.

After that season, he was named the Jim Thorpe Award winner and a unanimous All-American. Then he would go on to be the sixth overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft to the Dallas Cowboys.

In 32 career college games, he totaled 11 interceptions and 23 pass breakups.

3. Derek Stingley Jr. (2019–2021)

The expectations placed on Derek Stingley Jr. before he played a single college snap were almost unfair. The Baton Rouge native arrived on campus as the No. 1 overall prospect in the country by Rivals. His career proved them right.

As a true freshman in 2019, Stingley started all 13 games on LSU's national championship team. He led the SEC with six interceptions, ranked second nationally with 21 passes defended and allowed only a 37 percent completion rate when targeted.

He was doing all of this as an 18-year-old against the SEC's best wide receivers, on one of college football's greatest rosters ever. He would be named a Consensus All-American.

Injuries in the adjusted 2020 season and a Lisfranc foot surgery that cost Stingley most of 2021 prevented him from fully building on his freshman-year brilliance in his final seasons at LSU.

But his two first-team All-American seasons were enough for the Houston Texans, taking him third overall in the 2022 NFL Draft.

Stingley fulfilled every bit of his promise in the NFL, earning First-Team All-Pro honors in both 2024 and 2025.

2. Tyrann Mathieu (2010–2011)

In just two seasons at LSU, Tyrann Mathieu became one of the most electrifying defensive players in the history of college football.

The Honey Badger set an SEC record with 11 career forced fumbles in just 26 games. He created 15 total turnovers across his two seasons.

But it didn't end at turnovers. In 2011, he returned two punts for touchdowns, including one in the SEC Championship Game against Georgia that won him MVP honors. He was the first defensive player to earn that distinction since 1994.

He finished that season fifth in Heisman Trophy voting, the first defensive back to be a finalist since Charles Woodson in 1997.

Mathieu's sophomore campaign alone saw 76 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, six forced fumbles, five fumble recoveries, two interceptions and 420 punt return yards with two touchdowns. He won the Chuck Bednarik Award and was named a unanimous All-American.

He was dismissed from the team before his junior season for violating team rules, ending his college career early.

Mathieu was then drafted in the third round in 2013 after a season off. Mathieu rebuilt his career over 12 NFL seasons, winning a Super Bowl with Kansas City in 2019 and earning two All-Pro selections.

1. Patrick Peterson (2008–2010)

Patrick Peterson is not merely the best cornerback LSU has produced since 2010. He may be the greatest cornerback in the history of college football.

The Florida native arrived in Baton Rouge in 2008 as the No. 6 overall prospect in the country and spent three years simply dismantling the concept of throwing to his side of the field.

In 2010 alone, he held two of the NFL's greatest receivers in Georgia's A.J. Green and Alabama's Julio Jones to seven catches combined.

Peterson's production was elite from every angle. Over three years, he finished with 135 tackles, 22 pass breakups and seven interceptions.

His return skills were elite. In 2010, he recorded 418 punt return yards on 26 returns with two touchdowns and 932 kickoff return yards. He ranked fourth in the nation in all-purpose yards as a cornerback.

His award haul was historic. In 2010, he became just the second player ever to win both the Chuck Bednarik Award and the Jim Thorpe Award in the same season, while also sweeping the SEC Defensive and Special Teams Player of the Year honors. He was a consensus First-Team All-American in both 2009 and 2010.

Peterson was taken fifth overall by the Arizona Cardinals in 2011, and he made eight Pro Bowls, earned three First-Team All-Pro designations and was named to the NFL's 2010s All-Decade Team.

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