SEC schools continually churn out the most NFL talent. Bottom line:Another one of the schools without a national title, the Hawkeyes are a perfect nickname for Iowa because their best two players seemingly had hawk eyes. Now youre an History of Colleges Most Represented on NFL Rosters, 3300 West Camelback Road - Phoenix, AZ 85017, Criminal Justice, Government & Public Administration. Its quality, as well. With all due respect to Fran Tarkenton and others drafted before 1980, the best players in Georgia history have come in the last 40 years. The state of California has produced the most players in today's NFL. Michigan - 346 7. 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. and Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett, who rated as the top prospect from the Lone Star State for the 2014 national recruiting cycle before signing with Texas A&M. 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. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not You can only publish select stories individually not as a collection. Oklahoma - 328 9. What college has the most NFL players all time? Colleges That Have Produced the Most NFL Players - WTOP News And while not everyone can get their name called to start a professional football career, everyone can set themselves up for a successful career in another field with the help of a quality education like the one you will receive at Grand Canyon University. Some colleges excel at producing Fortune 500 CEOs. Mississippi produces more NFL players per capita than any other state, and its not really that close. 4-year graduation rate: 90%. Bottom line:Perhaps the most impressive thing about the Buckeyes' NFL credentials is that they rank second in active players with 65. The Ducks didn't win another "Granddaddy" until 2011, when Chip Kelly and his high-flying offense beat Wisconsin 45-38. A cleveland.com review of opening week rosters found Florida leads with the way with 193 players, based on the place of birth of each player. We just dont have available stats on the authors and musicians. In fact, 12 of their Pro Bowl players played either running back or fullback. One of the exciting things about going to college is that youll have the opportunity to direct the course of your own education. Our stories may appear on pages with ads, but not ads specifically sold against our stories. 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. Weve looked at the top states for producing NFL players, but how about the most successful schools within those states? Ohio has 71 players in the league followed by Alabama with 61, Virginia with 58 (and that so many played at prep school in that state helps) and North . By continuing to navigate this site you are consenting to the collection of information via our use of cookies. Most games played:Sebastian Janikowski (284). By Jackson. 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). Bottom line: Oregon won a Rose Bowl in their first season in 1916. And in 2018 and 2019, one out of four quarterbacks who started Week 1 hailed from the Lone Star State. Its highest touchdown scorer, Elroy Hirsch, found the end zone just 66 times. In the college game, Tennessee has fallen off over the last 20 years, recording just two top-10 finish over that span. Heck, it doesnt even finish in the top two in its own division thanks to the two participants of "The Game" beating them out. Hall of Famers Warren Moon and Hugh McElhenny came from Los Angeles, six-time Pro Bowl center Olin Kreutz came from Hawaii, and Marcus Peters was from Oakland. 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). Colorado . 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. Which state has the highest average draft position for quarterbacks? 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. 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. Vinny Testaverde. 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. Notre Dame - 495 2. This college has also produced the second-most players in the 2021 season. 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. Alabama, Ohio State, and LSU have been at the forefront of the supply chain of great talent for the NFL. Here is a breakdown of the states where the most active NFL players were born Sign up for notifications from Insider! 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. There are 151 NFL players that came from colleges across California. Second is Ohio State with 67, followed by LSU with 62. Without Fitzpatrick's 146 starts, the canyon between Arizona and runner-up Ohio, at 57.6% for its 34 QBs, would be even wider. That is more than 30 percent of all active players listed Pro-Football-Reference.com. Even with Aikman, Oklahoma has fewer Hall of Famers than Morgan State, San Francisco and Jackson State, all schools with fewer than 100 NFL players. Copyright 2023 Action Network Inc, All Rights Reserved.Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | AdChoices. Any amount helps us keep producing quality journalism for Mississippi. The only thing UCLA is missing is an elite NFL receiver since theyve had Pro Bowlers at every position except out wide. 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. In the City of Miami, State of Florida, Saint Thomas Aquinas High School produces the most NFL players. In fact, since Saban became coach in 2007, the Crimson Tide have more first-round picks (39) than losses (27). The data was analyzed through the lenses of number of quarterbacks, Hall of Fame quarterbacks, Super Bowl wins and NFL approximate value (AV). From there, we ranked which state currently has produced the most NFL players. However, players of that caliber have been few and far between in recent years as the majority of Michigan States NFL alums played in the early days of the NFL. Louisiana, which doesn't have. 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. These colleges have produced the most NFL players, and they have a track record of success on the gridiron. While that number seems impressive, its a low number for this list and ranks just 81st in terms of all college football programs. accurate as of the publish date. He might be No. Bruce Feldman of FOX Sports shared a chart on Twitter on Thursday that breaks down which states have the most NFL players per capita. Rick Cleveland, a native of Hattiesburg and resident of Jackson, has been Mississippi Todays sports columnist since 2016. California alone, at 225 active players, accounts for more than ten percent of NFL players. We also took the combined data we had gathered and made a slightly different graphic for the entire history of the NFL. Some regions of the country, though, have become well known for regularly producing NFL-caliber talent. The schools other Hall of Famers are quarterback Bobby Layne, running back Earl Campbell and defensive back Bobby Dillon. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. Bottom line:Pittsburgh has just six Top 25 finishes in the last 35 years and hasnt won more than 10 games since 1981. A new, thorough study confirms what I have long contended to be true. Kelly never got the program to the promised land, and Oregon still is searching for its first national championship. Bottom line:The Auburn Tigers are not currently considered an SEC powerhouse, but it wasn't that long ago when they were. In Georgia, one NFL player is played for every 81,409 people, while in Florida, one is played for every 91,847 people. But Florida State is rising up the ranks, and of its four Hall of Famers, three have been enshrined in Canton this decade. That list doesnt even include Cam Newton, who is the NFLs all-time leader in rushing touchdowns for a quarterback. Before making life miserable for NFL defenses, they were doing the same to opponents in college. Arkansas has sent almost 300 players to the NFL. If you feel like you're losing control over your gambling experience, call 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ, PA, WV), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA), 1-888- 532-3500(Virginia) 1-800-522-4700 (NV, TN), 1-800-522-4700 (CO, TN), 1-855-2CALLGA (IL), 1-800-270-7117 (MI). Nebraska, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Alabama round out the top five. Building The Roster: States that produce most, least NFL players We are particularly interested in which colleges have been the most successful at sending players to the pros. Ohio, a traditional Midwest football-mad state, is fifth on the list in terms of NFL players. After all, our hometown Arizona Cardinals have the first overall pick! The state also produced Richard Sherman, Tyron Smith, Bobby Wagner and several other stars. Heres the breakdown: There are three colleges that have dominated Florida football for decades. 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. Will Furrer. Thats a no-brainer. 13 Texas A&M at Kyle Field. And Jacksonville, Florida, native Mac Jones is expected to be the third straight Alabama QB selected in the first round, with none of the three hailing from Alabama. The Sooners have only three Hall of Famers. The Longhorns are no longer on top, and they are chasing Oklahoma for Big 12 supremacy in terms of NFL players produced. Looking at the current NFL landscape, Action Network was able to identify several hot spots where top talent came from. But Knoxville, with its close location to the Gulf Coast, the Eastern Seaboard and the Midwest, is still adept at attracting top college prospects. Active NFL players from Texas include Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes; Buffalo Bills linebacker Von Miller; Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans; Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford; Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray; San Francisco 49ers offensive tackle Trent Williams. To learn more about our cartoon syndication services. Top 10 states that have produced the greatest NFL quarterbacks The one thing lacking from The Ohio States NFL resume is a great, or even good, or even above-average, quarterback. The 2022 season has seen 58 active players from the Alabama lineage. 20 college football teams we aren't sold on in 2023, SEC Basketball Power Rankings: Mizzou shocks Tennessee, Alabama downs Auburn and more, SEC Basketball Power Rankings: Alabama stays unbeaten in SEC play, Tennessee outlasts Auburn and more, SEC Basketball Power Rankings: A new top team emerges, Alabama loses in blowout fashion, Mizzou lights it up again. 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. As one of the oldest teams in the league, the Cardinals have one of the largest rosters of players all-time, clocking in at over 1,800! The Bruins are considered a basketball school while nearby USC is considered the citys football school, but UCLA gets more than just the Trojans leftovers. second most all-time wins in college football history. Try selecting a different location. Most touchdowns in NFL: LeGarrette Blount (58), Most games played in NFL: George Martin (201). 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. Louisiana QBs have nine Super Bowl wins in 14 starts. History of Colleges Most Represented on NFL Rosters - GCU While not every former SEC player is from the state where they went to college, many of them did choose to stay close to home, either in their own state or a state close by. Current NFL players: 37. 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. Which Schools Have the Most NFL Players? Brees or Woodson at the top of the Purdue football alumni depth chart? Twelve of the 22 Washington QBs came from the greater Seattle area. Led by Manning and league MVPs Brett Favre and Steve McNair, they made 732 starts in 802 games played (91.3%). LSUs alums rank fifth all-time in touchdowns scored, with most of their best players lining up on the offensive side of the ball. Cam Newton attended Florida for two years, then transferred to Auburn, so when he was taken first overall in the 2011 NFL draft, Auburn got the credit for the selection. Bottom line:Did you know that the Washington Huskies 40 game win streak from 1908 to 1914 is the second-longest in NCAA history? How 'bout them Cowboys? 1. California - 460.6 Aaron Rodgers, Pleasant Valley (Chico) - 104.1 Tom Brady, Serra (San Mateo) - 96.4 Carson Palmer, Santa Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita) - 88.1 Jeff Garcia, Gilroy - 87.5 Alex Smith, Helix (La Mesa) - 84.5 2. Which State Has The Most Nfl Players? - CLJ Only five players in the program's history have been selected first . Of that 82, 74 are playing in the NFL after spending time at Nick Saban's powerhouse football program. 13 Texas A&M at Kyle Field, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. The city of Miami has more NFL players than any other city, and these players just arent your run-of-the-mill second and third-stringers. 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. Despite having the most players all-time, the Fighting Irish ranked eigth in active players for the 2022 NFL season. At the other end of the spectrum, North Dakota, Delaware, and New Hampshire are each the birthplace of a single player in the NFL. 2 following the 1962 season. 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. Read on to see the results. Which state has the most NFL teams? - Sportskeeda A bust is waiting for Brees in Canton. The remaining seven states to crack the top 10 are Georgia, Ohio, Alabama, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, North Carolina and New Jersey. Out of all colleges, Notre Dame has produced 521 players selected in the NFL draft. Which states produce the most NFL players? Florida, California, Texas No school has more active NFL players than Alabamas 77, and that doesnt even include its 10 players taken in the 2019 draft, which was the most of any school. Bottom line: Purdue is one of the oldest college football programs. Highest AV in NFL: Randall McDaniel (129), Most touchdowns in NFL: Charley Taylor (90), Most games played in NFL: Terrell Suggs (244). Pitt has produced the best defensive lineman in a generation in Aaron Donald, but the DLU rsum increased in 2021 too, with three players selected in this year's draft. Fortunately for the Sooners, Adrian Peterson is sure to increase that number five years after he retires. College programs with the most NFL draft picks, ranked - 247Sports News Star World, Jackson Daily News and Clarion Ledger. 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. Action Network's list of the top 10 states with the most active NFL players is listed below: Texas- 211 California- 149 Florida- 149 North Carolina- 121 Alabama- 109 Pennsylvania- 106 Ohio- 104 Michigan- 103 Louisiana- 102 Georgia- 89 Advertise With Us For You 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. Thats as many Pro Football Hall of Famers as both Florida State and Georgia have and twice as many as Auburn, Ole Miss and Southern Miss have produced. 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. 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. The captain of Oregon's all-time NFL team is Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Fouts, a third-round pick (No. While the Razorbacks are no longer the class of the tough SEC, they have won 14 conference championships in program history and brought home a national championship to Fayetteville in 1964. 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. Colleges That Have Produced the Most NFL Players The only thing missing from Alabamas NFL resume is a shutdown cornerback. Many may not think of the Tar Heel State as a football-dominant state, but they sure know how to produce top-talent. California and Texas are still at the top of the list. Mississippi averages 26.6 NFL players for every 100,000 citizens. 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). You make the call. 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. Oliver Luck hailed from St. Ignatius, but the 44113 doesn't get credit for his son Andrew, who went to high school in Texas. No. 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. North Dakota State's Trey Lance could be the first Minnesota QB selected in the first round. 2023 www.clarionledger.com. That makes them a bit of an outlier since every other school in the top seven is in a warm-weather location in either the South or Southern California. But the program has produced some elite NFL stars. But great players in Norman havent translated to great players in the NFL. So we didnt. BALTIMORE, MD - SEPTEMBER 09: Quarterback Lamar Jackson #8 of the Baltimore Ravens rushes against the Buffalo Bills during the second half at M&T Bank Stadium on September 9, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. 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. Although the Magnolia State has boasted just 11 NFL quarterbacks during the Super Bowl era (tied for 12th among all states), almost all of them were QB1s. Follow on Twitter @RichExner or see previous stories at cleveland.com/datacentral. The most notable star to come from the Sunshine State is Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson. Former Buckeyes in the NFL draft this year include Kendall Sheffield (CB, Atlanta Falcons), Rod Smith (RB, Carolina Panthers) and Justin Fields (QB, Chicago Bears). For more information on our cookie collection and use please visit our Privacy Policy.