Weve ranked the best NFL-talent producing universities in Texas, California, Florida, North Carolina, and Alabama. You can only publish select stories individually not as a collection. We limited this data to schools who have had at least five players make the all-time roster to weed out one-off outlier players. Action Network makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the information given or the outcome of any game or event. How 'bout them Cowboys? 1. The Lone Star State produced a plethora of talented quarterbacks, such as Drew Brees, Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray and Ryan Tannehill. You may have been obsessed with becoming You may have already come across the term senioritis while in high school, and perhaps youve dealt with a bout of it already as you prepared for your high school graduation. That is, the Magnolia State, relatively small and poor in so many ways, kicks tail when it comes to producing football talent. This site .css-110721q{color:#0079F0;}contains commercial content. Thanks to a slew of legendary coaches and a tradition . The only thing missing from Alabamas NFL resume is a shutdown cornerback. In 2016, Favre became the ninth native Mississippian inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. California and Texas are still at the top of the list. Twelve of the 22 Washington QBs came from the greater Seattle area. The state of Mississippi has placed the most players in the NFL capita, according to a by Sidelines. If youre not able to add the byline, please include a line at the top of the story that reads: This story was originally published by Mississippi Today and include our website, You cannot republish our editorial cartoons, photographs, illustrations or graphics without specific permission (contact our managing editor. Some colleges excel at producing Fortune 500 CEOs. You might mention that the next time the Crimson Tide kicks your favorite teams butt, as it has done to Southern Miss (63-14), Ole Miss (42-21) and Mississippi State (49-9) this season. The Buckeye State had 78 players in the NFL ranks in 2014. He was sports editor of Hattiesburg American, executive director of the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame. Many may not think of the Tar Heel State as a football-dominant state, but they sure know how to produce top-talent. So we set out to determine what state produces the most NFL players. The Bobby Bowden-Jimbo Fisher era was the best run in program history, and that was evident by FSU having 46 active players in the NFL in 2019. We do not sell or share your information with anyone. Bottom line: The California Golden Bears have been playing football since 1916. The numbers were run through a principle component analysis -- boiling the information down to the most important data points -- to create the overall rankings. The GLIAC has the most active NFL players with 10, followed by the Mid-America conference with 9. USC - 479 3. Bottom line: While six states on this list landed multiple programs in the top 25, only one city accomplished the feat, and thats Los Angeles. The only thing missing from Washingtons NFL alumni is a successful wide receiver. Bottom line: Tennessee makes up for its lack of quantity (13th in all-time players and 19th in active players) with quality (fifth in Pro Bowl selections). Current NFL players: 37. We also identified the college football programs that sent the most players to the NFL within those states. Iowa not only has the NFLs all-time interceptions leader in Paul Krause (81), but it also has the second all-time interceptions leader in Emlen Tunnell (79). Among states with SEC schools, the per capita numbers are: Mississippi (first, 26.6), Louisiana (fourth, 21.2), Alabama (fifth, 17), Arkansas (12th, 13.4), Tennessee (13th, 13.3), South Carolina (14th, 11.5), Kentucky (16th, 9.9), Texas (23rd, 8.5), Florida (34th, 6), Georgia (35th, 6) andMissouri (38th, 5.3). DISCLAIMER: This site is 100% for entertainment purposes only and does not involve real money betting. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Total enrollment: 46,810. The school has produced at least one player from every season of NFL football since the league resumed play in 2012. By clicking Sign up, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider We center readers in everything we do, informingand engagingMississippians through reporting, podcasts, events and online communities. When you factor in population, the state produces 26.6 pro football players for every 100,000 people. Some regions of the country, though, have become well known for regularly producing NFL-caliber talent. This college has also produced the second-most players in the 2021 season. In the college game, Tennessee has fallen off over the last 20 years, recording just two top-10 finish over that span. Oklahoma - 328 9. We believe that an informed Mississippi is a better Mississippi. With the 2021 NFL Draft now firmly in the rearview mirror, here's an updated look at the 25 schools with the most all-time NFL Draft picks. With 14 cities producing at least four players on Kickoff Weekend rosters, Texas surpassed Florida to lead the league in home states. Mississippi averages 26.6 NFL players for every 100,000 citizens. Mississippi averages 26.6 NFL players for every 100,000 citizens. Bledsoe, the No. California is more than just Tom Brady, and the great state of Texas hasn't been so great when it comes to producing NFL QBs, according to our formula, which counts a player's home state as the one in which he finished his high school career. What college has the most NFL players all time? The state also produced Richard Sherman, Tyron Smith, Bobby Wagner and several other stars. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (each updated 1/26/2023). Read on to see the results. The schools that dominate on Saturdays have their alumni playing on Sundays. That is more than 1 in every 12 players currently in the league. But the Texas total computes to only 8.5 players per 100,000, about one-third of what Mississippi has produced. It's no surprise the schools that dominate on Saturdays see their alumni playing on Sundays. 2 is Louisiana (one in 76,837) .. No. From 1960 to 1987, the franchise was located in St. Louis, and that westward move brought with it more players from the Southwest and Great Plains regions, as players from schools like Utah, Missouri and Nebraska starting appearing on the field more for the NFL franchise. The research was done by Sidelines, a sports technology and digital media company, which also found that Texas has produced the most NFL players (2,515) of any state. Top 10 States that have produced the greatest NFL quarterbacks Graphic by Ryan Escobar 1. North Dakota State's Trey Lance could be the first Minnesota QB selected in the first round. You make the call. The population of New York State is nearly 20 million, compared to Mississippis fewer than 3 million. Over those100-plus years, they have won two national championships (1920 and 1922) and produced many pro players. They are followed by Florida, Texas, Georgia and then Ohio. The only thing UCLA is missing is an elite NFL receiver since theyve had Pro Bowlers at every position except out wide. There were at least eight Power 5 starting quarterbacks in college football last season from Arizona, but just two Arizonans started in the NFL last season (Kyle Allen and Ryan Fitzpatrick). Louisiana is famous for its Cajun food, jazz music, Mardi Gras -- and quarterbacks. By continuing to navigate this site you are consenting to the collection of information via our use of cookies. Ohio State - 426 4. About 20 miles on I-75 separate the Georgia high school homes of two of the draft's top QB prospects. Alabama - 319 What College Has The Most NFL Players - 2019 Alabama - 53 LSU - 51 Ohio State - 46 USC - 44 Miami - 43 Florida - 43 Arkansas (274) 24. A winning tradition brings recruits from all over the country, and Ohio States all-time winning percentage of .754 ranks first among Power 5 programs. One of the first things we found was how many players have ever donned the teams uniform throughout the entirety of the franchises history. 1 overall pick. Remember, were talking about per capita here. In fact, since Saban became coach in 2007, the Crimson Tide have more first-round picks (39) than losses (27). A debate between NFL players bubbled up on social media this week when former Galveston Ball High School star Mike Evans proclaimed that Texas high school football produces the best players. We do not target any individuals under the age of 21. Newman had Peyton and Eli Manning, and Westlake's Drew Brees and Nick Foles also led world champions. Others create politicians. 25. LSU - 325 10. Many of the schools on this list are poised to send another great class of rookies to the NFL next season. While Brady (and his seven rings) is the headliner, the Golden State's dominance is more than just the Golden Boy, a sixth-round pick who graduated from Serra High School in 1995. More:Mississippi State upends No. LSUs alums rank fifth all-time in touchdowns scored, with most of their best players lining up on the offensive side of the ball. We may be compensated for the links provided on this page. This is another program that has experienced its most success in recent years, and only rival Alabama has more active NFL players. The 2022 season has seen 58 active players from the Alabama lineage. Here is an in-depth look at the top five states. And that Mississippi number doesnt count such NFL legends as Ray Guy, Robert Brazile and Gene Hickerson, who played their college ball in Mississippi after growing up in nearby states. Then he starred for the Steelers, Ravens, 49ers and Raiders in the NFL. However, Nebraska hasnt finished in the top 10 in the final AP poll since the 2001 season, and its once-abundant NFL pipeline has all but dried up. All rights reserved. Can you name the seven states that have not produced an NFL quarterback? It features arguably the most successful college football program in history. However, 13 Wolverines have reached 1,000 NFL rushing yards with the latest being the greatest, Tom Brady. Alabama, Ohio State, and LSU have been at the forefront of the supply chain of great talent for the NFL. Bottom line:Michigan has the second most all-time wins in college football history (behind Alabama), produced perhaps the greatest quarterback in NFL history (Tom Brady) and even had a future president play for them (Gerald Ford). Bottom line:Pittsburgh has just six Top 25 finishes in the last 35 years and hasnt won more than 10 games since 1981. The Sunshine State comes in at #3 with 149 total players in the NFL. In fact, 12 of their Pro Bowl players played either running back or fullback. It was enough to move . Again, its not even close. Once we started looking through historic roster data for various NFL teams, we really didnt want to stop. Miami - 341 8. The Boilermakers started playing football in 1892 and have sent big names to the NFL. These colleges have produced the most NFL players, and they have a track record of success on the gridiron. following organizations: Whoops! His work as a syndicated columnist and celebrated sports writer has appeared in numerous magazines, periodicals and newspapers. Stay up to date with what you want to know. . Texas surprisingly has no quarterbacks in the Hall of Fame (based on our criteria for players since 1966), and the collective approximate value of the state's QBs is watered down because many are not key contributors (its 62% start average ranked 15th among states with at least 500 games played). Clemson's Trevor Lawrence went 52-2 as a starter at Cartersville High, winning two state titles. Miami Hurricane alums rank second in NFL touchdowns scored and fourth in Pro Bowl selections, despite having 60-70 percent of the number of players that the top two schools have produced. 211 current NFL players came from a school in Texas. At present he serves the Minnesota Vikings as their Chief Operating Officer, making him one of the highest-ranking executives in the organization with the 18th pick in this years draft. And in 2018 and 2019, one out of four quarterbacks who started Week 1 hailed from the Lone Star State. Interestingly, the 1988 move to Phoenix marked an end to regionality having an outsize influence on roster decisions, with Michigan Wolverines playing for the Cardinals at a greater clip than any other school in both the 2000s and 2010s. News Star World, Jackson Daily News and Clarion Ledger. 4-year graduation rate: 90%. In terms of schools that have produced the most NFL players all-time, Notre Dame just edged out USC for the top spot, with Ohio State joining those historic programs as the only ones to send more than 400 players to the NFL. The research was done by Sidelines, a sports technology and digital media company, which also found that Texas has produced the most NFL players (2,515) of any state. Louisiana, with 25 NFL QBs, including Terry Bradshaw, Peyton Manning and Eli Manning, is No. In Ohio, Cuyahoga County alone is the birthplace of 17 players. The school has produced Pro Bowlers at every other position on the field, but theyve yet to send a receiver to the Pro Bowl or have a receiver post a 1,000-yard season. Bottom line:Did you know that the Washington Huskies 40 game win streak from 1908 to 1914 is the second-longest in NCAA history? First-rounders: 6. Quarterbacks taken ahead of Fouts that year include Bert Jones (Baltimore Colts), Gary Huff (Chicago Bears), Ron Jaworski (Los Angeles Rams), Gary Keithley (St. Louis Cardinals) and Joe Ferguson (Buffalo Bills). The combination of our local NFL squad picking at the top of the draft, an accomplished alum serving in a major leadership role for a different team, and our general interest in seeing college students start their careers after school really got our team thinking about what it means for these student-athletes who are preparing to drop the student part of that moniker. Top editors give you the stories you want delivered right to your inbox each weekday. Did you also know that the streak started a dozen years before the NFL was founded so none of the players on those teams made it to the league? Rick has been recognized 13 times as Mississippi Sports Writer of the Year, and is recipient of multiple awards and honors for his reporting and writing. Second is California with 187, followed by Texas (160), Georgia (97), Ohio (80), Pennsylvania (66) and Louisiana (63). These five state's account for close to 50% of. Notre Dame, USC, and Ohio State have produced 400 or more NFL players in history. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. To republish online, simply click the button, copy the html code and paste into your Content Management System (CMS). Or should be. You cant edit our stories, except to reflect relative changes in time, location and editorial style. Most touchdowns in NFL: Lance Alworth (87), Most games played in NFL: Jason Peters (238). While some schools are known for producing CEOs or millionaires, these 10 colleges have the most NFL players on active rosters, according to NCAA data. Historically, Texas, California, and Pennsylvania have been hotbeds for football talent. Any amount helps us keep producing quality journalism for Mississippi. In the 1980's, the L.A. Rams featured one of the best NFL running backs of all time in Eric Dickerson, who tore defenses apart and set the league's single season rushing record in 1984. Be sure to visit the Action Networks NCAAF Odds page each week to the lay of the land for betting lines. To explain what we did, we cant think of a better team to spotlight than the aforementioned Arizona Cardinals, owners of the top overall pick this weekend. Notre Dame and USC were actually tied for the most draft selections ever entering the 2021 draft with 511. More than 25 percent of its 98 Pro Bowl selections came from just four defensive backs: Mike Haynes (9), Eric Allen (6), Louis Wright (5) and Darren Woodson (5). 2023 www.clarionledger.com. Ohio, a traditional Midwest football-mad state, is fifth on the list in terms of NFL players. Additionally, Miami wins the all-important Battle for Florida since it has more Pro Bowl selections (181) than Florida State (103) and Florida (89). California, with 141 quarterbacks, is tops in the union with 14 Super Bowl wins in 25 starts, three Hall of Famers, seven No. In terms of schools that have produced the most NFL players all-time, Notre Dame just edged out USC for the top spot, with Ohio State joining those historic programs as the only ones to send more than 400 players to the NFL. Data was culled from Pro Football Reference to figure out which states have over- or underperformed based on the expected number of NFL quarterbacks produced, decided by population size and the number of Division I programs in a state. Heres the top five schools for sending players to the pros: There are five schools who that dominate when it comes to producing NFL talent in California. The Volunteers can thank three players for boosting up their number of Pro Bowl selections: Peyton Manning (14), Reggie White (13) and Jason Witten (11) account for nearly 30 percent of those nods. Yes, Bulldogs Dak Prescott and perhaps Fletcher Cox are future Hall of Famers but thats a few years away. But in recent years, the states that are football factories has shifted a little. Any school would be proud if their NFL alumni base started and ended with those names -- but at Fork Union Military Academy in Virginia, that's just five of the quarterbacks who attended the boarding school before playing in the NFL. At the other end of the spectrum, North Dakota, Delaware, and New Hampshire are each the birthplace of a single player in the NFL. Of that 82, 74 are playing in the NFL after spending time at Nick Saban's powerhouse football program. But which high schools are "football factories" like major college programs such as Alabama, Ohio State and USC? Bottom line:The dominance of Alabama under Nick Saban isnt limited to just the college game. The higher the AV, the greater the career he had. Mississippi State upends No. 2 Alabama, SEC Women's Basketball Tournament action suspended due to weather delay, 2 SEC players named to late-season watch list for Oscar Robertson Player of the Year Trophy, Overrated? Bottom line:While many of the aforementioned schools have had recent success but not decades of winning, the exact opposite can be said for Nebraska. This makes up 2.79% of the NFL. Only 44 wide receivers in NFL history have reached 10,000 receiving yards, and three of them came from MSU Andre Rison, Muhsin Muhammad and Derrick Mason. But the program has produced some elite NFL stars. Pennsylvania State University--University. Our stories may appear on pages with ads, but not ads specifically sold against our stories. And where does the 2021 NFL draft class of quarterbacks come from? 4-year graduation rate: 66%. Since these states end up producing such talented players, that's why college football programs like Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Miami, Ohio State and Penn State get their hands on top recruits. That is 48 more than the team with the next most Pro Bowl selections. The United States of quarterbacks will add more members to the club April 29-May 1 with the NFL draft (on ESPN/ESPN App) and maybe someday make some QB-starved states proud (we're looking at you, Utah and Minnesota). Nebraska - 346 6. NFL draft picks since 2000: 57. The remaining seven states to crack the top 10 are Georgia, Ohio, Alabama, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, North Carolina and New Jersey. Bruce Feldman of FOX Sports shared a chart on Twitter on Thursday that breaks down which states have the most NFL players per capita. Westlake (Austin, Texas) High and Isidore Newman (New Orleans) School represent the only two ZIP codes in the country to produce multiple Super Bowl-winning starting quarterbacks. But Knoxville, with its close location to the Gulf Coast, the Eastern Seaboard and the Midwest, is still adept at attracting top college prospects. The universities to follow Alabama were Ohio State, Florida, Louisiana State and Michigan, all courtesy of its football programs. Action Network's list of the top 10 states with the most active NFL players is listed below. Notre Dames lack of recent success bears out in the number of active players the Irish have in the NFL. Even though Florida has had over 385 former Gators suit up in the NFL, none of those players were ever drafted first overall out of UF. The Cornhuskers have won more games against Power 5 opponents than any other school in history, and their dominance stretches from the early 20th century all the way to the 1990s. We share information about your use of this site with our social media, advertising and analytics teams who may combine it with other information that youve provided to them. Don Majkowski. If you share our stories on social media, please tag us in your posts using. Bottom line:Lots of schools have proclaimed themselves as "DB U" due to the prolific number of defensive backs they have sent to the NFL. Recent post: What Color Is Associated With The Number 5? No matter who you root for, the NFL Draft represents an exciting time in the lives of football fans, one that brings the promise and potential of new talent and new hopes for on-field success. The most NFL players have come from Saint Thomas Aquinas High School in Miami, Florida, and the state of Florida. From there, we ranked which state currently has produced the most NFL players. The University of Alabama has produced the most pro athletes out of college, though, with 82. Heres how the rest of the list shakes out: The college football landscape is already taking shape for the 2022-23 season. During your secondary school years, you likely had a little One of the most common questions students hear is, What do you want to be when you grow up? For many individuals that answer is subject to change over time. California alone, at 225 active players, accounts for more than ten percent of NFL players. Mississippi produces more NFL players per capita than any other state, and its not really that close. Here is a breakdown of the states where the most active NFL players were born Sign up for notifications from Insider! Bottom line:The U may not have the same prestige it had at the turn of the century, but there is no denying Miamis presence in the NFL. Alabama leads the way with 72 active NFL players as of the 2021-2022 season. According to Pro Football Reference, Arizona has produced 19 NFL quarterbacks, eighth most in the country, but it has the lowest percentage of starts (55%) among states with at least 400 games played. Most touchdowns in NFL: LeGarrette Blount (58), Most games played in NFL: George Martin (201). These rankings are based on rosters published by Stats LLC on Monday afternoon, three days before the start of the season. Since 1936, 788 NFL players have come from Mississippi. The data was analyzed through the lenses of number of quarterbacks, Hall of Fame quarterbacks, Super Bowl wins and NFL approximate value (AV). That would be Grand Canyon University Athletics Hall of Fame member and Antelopes basketball legend Kevin Warren, who has been an executive for multiple NFL teams stretching back to the 1990s.