what state has produced the most nfl players all time
Oklahoma - 328 9. Louisiana is the state with the best ratio (one NFL player per 76,837 people), followed by Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida and South Carolina. North Carolina Perhaps a surprise to some, North Carolina takes the fourth spot. Or should be. Dick Butkus and Ray Nitschke dominated in the 1960s and '70s, and the Fighting Illinis success also is in yesteryear. 2 is Louisiana (one in 76,837) .. No. Would we Mississippians rather be ranked No. These high schools have produced the most NFL players. Their list of 10 Hall of Famers is sure to grow in the near future as Larry Fitzgerald, Darrelle Revis and Aaron Donald likely will receive their gold jackets one day. The only thing UCLA is missing is an elite NFL receiver since theyve had Pro Bowlers at every position except out wide. The dominance of Florida, Florida State and Miami has dwindled slightly over the years, but they are still producing NFL players at a high rate. Several prestigious Texas programs have contributed to the current NFL talent pool. These rankings are based on rosters published by Stats LLC on Monday afternoon, three days before the start of the season. 64 overall) of the San Diego Chargers in the 1973 NFL draft. At the other end of the spectrum, North Dakota, Delaware, and New Hampshire are each the birthplace of a single player in the NFL. This website does not fully support Internet Explorer. Washington is 10th overall in our rankings thanks in large part to Drew Bledsoe, Chris Chandler, Mark Rypien and Jon Kitna, whose careers have the highest approximate values among the state's 22 QBs. The universities to follow Alabama were Ohio State, Florida, Louisiana State and Michigan, all courtesy of its football programs. And some make NFL players. And where does the 2021 NFL draft class of quarterbacks come from? More:Mississippi State upends No. Nick Saban has given NFL franchises 29 first-round picks during his time as Alabama's head coach But the Texas total computes to only 8.5 players per 100,000, about one-third of what Mississippi has produced. 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. Eventually, we had gathered data on every player to ever appear on an active NFL roster, including their position, who they played for, how long they played in the league and of course which college they attended. Which state has the highest average draft position for quarterbacks? The rest of the country and other places around the world are home to 838 players. Michigan - 346 7. Madison, Wisconsin, may not be the first location that many transfers think of when deciding where they want to finish their college careers, but it has proven to be a much-sought-after destination for some of the NFLs best players. 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. Rick Cleveland, a native of Hattiesburg and resident of Jackson, has been Mississippi Todays sports columnist since 2016. A graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi with a bachelors in journalism, Rick has worked for the Monroe (La.) Of those, 74 have made it to the big game, with three former Buckeyes making four Super Bowl appearances each.. Despite ranking ninth in all-time NFL players, the Huskers rank just 26th in active NFL players. Woodson has a Super Bowl ring, 71 career interceptions, 11 Pro Bowls and six All-Pro honors. All six of the Nittany Lions' Pro Football Hall of Famers come from those states, including Franco Harris and Jack Ham, who were Penn State teammates and then teammates with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The NFLs all-time leading receiver and touchdown scorer is Jerry Rice, from Crawford and Mississippi Valley State. Twelve of the 22 Washington QBs came from the greater Seattle area. We are particularly interested in which colleges have been the most successful at sending players to the pros. The one thing lacking from The Ohio States NFL resume is a great, or even good, or even above-average, quarterback. 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). Three of those Razorbackers became Hall of Famers: wide receiver Lance Alworth, defensive lineman Dan Hampton and free safety Steve Atwater. 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. Bottom line: Youll notice a trend with nearly all of the schools on this list most reside in small college towns and outside of major cities. DISCLAIMER: This site is 100% for entertainment purposes only and does not involve real money betting. Here is a breakdown of the states where the most active NFL players were born Sign up for notifications from Insider! California ranked second among all U.S. states with 151 players drafted. How 'bout them Cowboys? 2 is Louisiana (one in 76,837) .. No. We do not sell or share your information with anyone. None are bigger than Drew Brees, who threw for 80,358 yards in his NFL career, more yards than any other quarterback in NFL history. There was an error and we couldn't process your subscription. But great players in Norman havent translated to great players in the NFL. This site .css-110721q{color:#0079F0;}contains commercial content. Nebraska (21.3 per 100,000), Oklahoma (also 21.3), and Louisiana (21.2) were the three states closest to Mississippi in NFL players per capita. Still, they dont have decades of winning traditions, which is why they fall a little lower on this list than many might expect. Bottom line: Stanford didn't invent football, but the school helped popularize it in the 1920s and '30s with Pop Warner, who coached the Cardinal from 1924 to 1932. Across NFL draft history, Notre Dame and USC have seen the most alums get drafted, according to drafthistory.com -- and they are also the most popular programs for the Eagles over time. The Penn State Nittany Lions, who began play in 1889, are among the most storied programs in . LSUs alums rank fifth all-time in touchdowns scored, with most of their best players lining up on the offensive side of the ball. Meanwhile, the Magnolia State has plenty to celebrate when it comes to football or writers and entertainers, for that matter. California has been strong in its quarterback production in every decade, leading the way in the 1970s, '80s and '90s (based on the final year of high school for each QB). 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 Buckeye never have had a Pro Bowl quarterback, never had a QB start all 16 games in an NFL season and never even had one throw for 3,000 yards in a season. And giving them three is a bit generous since Troy Aikman started his career at OU, but finished it at UCLA. Only five players in the program's history have been selected first . Notre Dame, USC, and Ohio State have produced 400 or more NFL players in history. The Ohio State University has produced a total of 411 players since the 17th NFL season in 1936. In the college game, Tennessee has fallen off over the last 20 years, recording just two top-10 finish over that span. Vinny Testaverde. U.S. News rank: 57 (tie), National Universities. Any amount helps us keep producing quality journalism for Mississippi. We also identified the college football programs that sent the most players to the NFL within those states. Nor does that number reflect on native Mississippians who should be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame such as Charlie Conerly, Kent Hull and Jimmie Giles. The Alabama Crimson Tide has produced the most NFL players out of all college football teams. We know most people arent fans of the Arizona Cardinals, so we went ahead and made a similar graphic for every other team in the National Football League, which you can click through in the above slideshow. More NFL players (199) graduated from Texas than any. Bottom line:No list about football would be complete without the state of Texas, and the Longhorn State lands its first of two proficient programs. You could say it all started with the godfather of football, Pop Warner. Dont forget to take advantage of Caesars Sportsbooks NCAAF odds week-in and week-out! Most touchdowns in NFL: LeGarrette Blount (58), Most games played in NFL: George Martin (201). Over those100-plus years, they have won two national championships (1920 and 1922) and produced many pro players. Troy Aikman, Jonathan Ogden and Jimmy Johnson all have rejected USC for Westwood and currently reside in the Hall of Fame. That is, the Magnolia State, relatively small and poor in so many ways, kicks tail when it comes to producing football talent. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. They have won just two conference titles in the last 35 years, and of their 61 Pro Bowl players, only one was drafted in the last 15 years (Vontae Davis, 2009). Bottom line:Florida is the only state to place three schools in the top 25, and despite FSU having the most recent success of the three programs, the Seminoles rank last in the Battle for Florida. However, 13 Wolverines have reached 1,000 NFL rushing yards with the latest being the greatest, Tom Brady. Those three states currently have 597 players in the NFL. Follow on Twitter @RichExner or see previous stories at cleveland.com/datacentral. Its highest touchdown scorer, Elroy Hirsch, found the end zone just 66 times. Help keep the momentum going by rejoining our member community today. Here are some takeaways: - Notre Dame has produced more NFL players than any other college, with 495 athletes going on to play in the NFL. But one school often overlooked in this conversation is Arizona State. Chris Spencer (center for Tennessee Titans), Jamarca Sanford (defensive back for Minnesota Vikings) and Damien Lewis (offensive line for Seattle Seahawks) are all outstanding players from Mississippi. No promotions available. Which Schools Have the Most NFL Players? But well take what we can get. Bottom line: Arkansas has a great football tradition. Bottom line:1980 was a landmark year for the Georgia Bulldogs football program as they claimed their first national championship while riding the legs of Herschel Walker. That's reflective of Arizona's NFL history, which includes longtime backup Mike Pagel. by Rick Cleveland, Mississippi Today November 1, 2021, This and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
. The state also produced Richard Sherman, Tyron Smith, Bobby Wagner and several other stars. No. Fortunately for the Sooners, Adrian Peterson is sure to increase that number five years after he retires. 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. 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. While that number seems impressive, its a low number for this list and ranks just 81st in terms of all college football programs. 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). In fact, those three states rank 1-2-3 all-time for states where NFL players were born. Bledsoe, the No. Mississippi averages 26.6 NFL players for every 100,000 citizens. 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 . 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. In terms of players by decade, the NFL relied heavily on schools from the Midwest such as Notre Dame and Minnesota in the early days, before shifting their focus out west to USC in the 70s and 80s before settling into a varied approach that has seen schools from the Midwest, California, and the Southeast regularly headlining NFL rosters over the last 30 years. Thats more than much larger states such as New York (7) and New Jersey (6). Weve looked at the top states for producing NFL players, but how about the most successful schools within those states? 4 on the leagues all-time passing yardage list. Trevor Lawrence, of Cartersville High, and Justin Fields, of Harrison High, became the top two recruits in the nation in 2018. Using this data we were able to illustrate some key data points for every franchise in the league, as well as the league as a whole. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images). 1 in health, wealth and education? Second is Ohio State with 67, followed by LSU with 62. This is another program that has experienced its most success in recent years, and only rival Alabama has more active NFL players. No. 13 Texas A&M at Kyle Field, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. Again, its not even close. Alabama (17) was a distant fifth. Subscribe to get the latest insight from Mel Kiper Jr., Todd McShay and all of our experts heading into the NFL draft, plus thousands of your favorite sporting events. But which high schools are "football factories" like major college programs such as Alabama, Ohio State and USC? Alabama leads the way with 72 active NFL players as of the 2021-2022 season. Action Network conducted a study to identify which state produced the most current NFL talent, which determined that the Lone Star State was the home of 211 active players, which accounts for 1 in every 12 players. Colorado . Or should. 1 overall picks and 6,532 TD passes. Colleges That Have Produced the Most NFL Players Alabama's Crimson Tide has 58 former student-athletes in the NFL, producing more pro players recently than other colleges. Seven of the school's 11 national championships came in the first half of the 20th century, and none of those titles have come in the last 30 years. In fact, 12 of their Pro Bowl players played either running back or fullback. The most NFL players have come from Saint Thomas Aquinas High School in Miami, Florida, and the state of Florida. 3 is Georgia (one in 78,761). The sheer size of California and the number of universities within it has propelled the state to #2 on the list. His work as a syndicated columnist and celebrated sports writer has appeared in numerous magazines, periodicals and newspapers. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. The population of New York State is nearly 20 million, compared to Mississippis fewer than 3 million. Bottom line:Whether or not Notre Dame is the greatest program in NCAA history is up for debate, but theres no denying the impact that the Fighting Irish football program has had on the NFL. pic.twitter.com/bxIOhq6fqz, Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) September 13, 2018. In Georgia, one NFL player is played for every 81,409 people, while in Florida, one is played for every 91,847 people. Texas used to be the dominant team in the state, but the rise of other programs like Texas A&M and TCU in recent years has taken some wind out of its sails. There are 151 NFL players that came from colleges across California. So we set out to determine what state produces the most NFL players. Bottom line:Pittsburgh has just six Top 25 finishes in the last 35 years and hasnt won more than 10 games since 1981. Coach Urban Meyer preparing players for the NFL also was a huge attraction as many of those 65 players came under his tenure. second most all-time wins in college football history. Champ Bailey, Hines Ward, Terrell Davis, Todd Gurley, Geno Atkins and more helped re-establish the Bulldogs as an SEC powerhouse and also left indelible marks in the NFL. Walter Payton, from Columbia and Jackson State, is the NFLs second all-time leading rusher. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. Nebraska,. Kiper's two-round mock draft: Top-five trade, record QB haul, Kiper's favorite draft prospects at every position, Biggest question marks for draft's top quarterbacks. But Michigan also has struggled when it comes to skill position players in the NFL. The Lone Star State produced a plethora of talented quarterbacks, such as Drew Brees, Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray and Ryan Tannehill. Just because we dont have a college team of our own here at Grand Canyon University doesnt mean that we arent caught up in the excitement and talent infusion the draft brings. According to its website, FUMA has produced more than 100 future NFL players, including 12 first-round picks such as Eddie George, Anthony Castonzo and Plaxico Burress. Don Majkowski. From John Brodie and Jim Plunkett to John Elway and Andrew Luck, there's a reason Stanford has a reputation as Quarterback U. There have been 149 players in NFL history to rush for 5,000 yards in a career, but none of them have donned the maize and blue. The Buckeye State had 78 players in the NFL ranks in 2014. So, it is no surprise to see them on this list. U.S. News rank: 18 (tie), National Universities. Brees or Woodson at the top of the Purdue football alumni depth chart? And in 2018 and 2019, one out of four quarterbacks who started Week 1 hailed from the Lone Star State. Warner collected 71 of his 311 career college wins at Stanford and changed the game with the forward pass. 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.