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. While everything may be bigger in Texas, the Aggies come up small in terms of Pro Football Hall of Famers. You'll find there's a QB1 state -- the one with the highest percentage of starts per game played -- and one that has produced the most backups. 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. 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. 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). Louisiana, with 25 NFL QBs, including Terry Bradshaw, Peyton Manning and Eli Manning, is No. . Bottom line: The California Golden Bears have been playing football since 1916. 2 following the 1962 season. While USC comes up second on this list (for now), the Trojans rank first with a staggering 239 Pro Bowl selections. Yes, Bulldogs Dak Prescott and perhaps Fletcher Cox are future Hall of Famers but thats a few years away. The most notable star to come from the Sunshine State is Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson. 13 Texas A&M at Kyle Field, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. Mississippi State has no former players the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The University of Alabama has produced the most pro athletes out of college, though, with 82. Here are the universities cultivating the talent: In Alabama, theres no denying which school is best at producing professional football players. But that is debatable. We may be compensated for the links provided on this page. The Longhorns are no longer on top, and they are chasing Oklahoma for Big 12 supremacy in terms of NFL players produced. 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). Its one of the most exciting times of the year for football fans around the country. The state of Mississippi has placed the most players in the NFL capita, according to a by Sidelines. Brees also won a Super Bowl (XLIV), was Super Bowl MVP, a 13-time Pro Bowler and a one-time All-Pro. But Florida State is rising up the ranks, and of its four Hall of Famers, three have been enshrined in Canton this decade. Despite putting 54 defensive backs in the NFL, including 14 first-rounders, no Bama corner has ever made a Pro Bowl. Mississippi not only produces the most NFL players per capita, but not only that, the state also produced the most Pro Football Hall of Famers per capita, as well, Diallo said. This college has also produced the second-most players in the 2021 season. That is more than 1 in every 12 players currently in the league. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not Coming in at second for most NFL players on Week 1 rosters is Texas. 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. The universities to follow Alabama were Ohio State, Florida, Louisiana State and Michigan, all courtesy of its football programs. 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. 3 is Georgia (one in 78,761). Alabama, Ohio State, and LSU have been at the forefront of the supply chain of great talent for the NFL. 1980 also stands as the midpoint for Georgia football and the NFL draft as 50 percent of all drafted Bulldogs were selected before 1980 while the other half came in 1980 or later. Mississippi averages 26.6 NFL players for every 100,000 citizens. The schools that dominate on Saturdays have their alumni playing on Sundays. 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. What college has the most NFL players all time? In third place for most NFL players is California, which gets to claim two legendary players in Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers. These high schools have produced the most NFL players. Our stories may appear on pages with ads, but not ads specifically sold against our stories. Oklahoma - 328 9. Any web site our stories appear on must include a contact for your organization. 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). North Carolina Perhaps a surprise to some, North Carolina takes the fourth spot. 64 overall) of the San Diego Chargers in the 1973 NFL draft. Perhaps a surprise to some, North Carolina takes the fourth spot. Dick Butkus and Ray Nitschke dominated in the 1960s and '70s, and the Fighting Illinis success also is in yesteryear. 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. Using traditional offensive and defensive formations as our guide, we were able to create a unique starting lineup of college football teams, using their logos as stand-ins. But the Texas total computes to only 8.5 players per 100,000, about one-third of what Mississippi has produced. Or should. Look for the "Republish This Story" button underneath each story. 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. Rich Exner, data analysis editor for cleveland.com, writes about numbers on a variety of topics. Cardale Jones. The data was analyzed through the lenses of number of quarterbacks, Hall of Fame quarterbacks, Super Bowl wins and NFL approximate value (AV). Led by Manning and league MVPs Brett Favre and Steve McNair, they made 732 starts in 802 games played (91.3%). 2023 www.clarionledger.com. It only seems as though Tom Brady has been playing long enough to have hung out with the Lizard King himself, and that Jim Morrison was talking about Brady and California QBs when he crooned, "The West is the best, get here and we'll do the rest." About Saturday Down South | Ethics and Editorial Standards | Privacy Policy | Terms and Conditions | Do Not Sell My Personal Information, Other Conferences: Big Ten | ACC | Pac-12. But even the most diehard of Notre Dame fans would admit that their best days are well behind them. The answer may surprise you. Florida ranked third with 149. 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 . From John Brodie and Jim Plunkett to John Elway and Andrew Luck, there's a reason Stanford has a reputation as Quarterback U. That is 48 more than the team with the next most Pro Bowl selections. 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. Though it might surprise some fans, the state of Florida actually has the most current NFL players. That is about 9% of the current active players in the league. 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 . Weve ranked the best NFL-talent producing universities in Texas, California, Florida, North Carolina, and Alabama. 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. In terms of 2018 rosters, however, it comes as no surprise that Alabama, the premier program in college football over the last decade, leads the way with 53 players, enough for an entire official NFL roster, suiting up during the most recent season. Tittle, Steve Van Buren and Kevin Mawae. Only five players in the program's history have been selected first . The remaining seven states to crack the top 10 are Georgia, Ohio, Alabama, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, North Carolina and New Jersey. 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. Louisiana, which doesn't have. U.S. News rank: 57 (tie), National Universities. Try selecting a different location. Since 1936, when the NFL began to keep accurate roster records, Mississippi has produced 788 NFL players. Twelve of the 22 Washington QBs came from the greater Seattle area. 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). We also took the combined data we had gathered and made a slightly different graphic for the entire history of the NFL. by Rick Cleveland, Mississippi Today November 1, 2021, This and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.. In Ohio, Cuyahoga County alone is the birthplace of 17 players. CLEVELAND, Ohio - Half the players on NFL rosters are from just seven states, with Ohio being among the top producers of pro football talent. 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. 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. Top editors give you the stories you want delivered right to your inbox each weekday. One of the exciting things about going to college is that youll have the opportunity to direct the course of your own education. While Washington D.C., which isnt a state, has the best ratio of any place, it is followed by six states that feature SEC schools. The only thing missing from Washingtons NFL alumni is a successful wide receiver. That's the highest start percentage of any state with at least 400 games played. That Mississippi led all other states, said Diallo, was the part we found super interesting.. He was sports editor of Hattiesburg American, executive director of the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame. Some colleges excel at producing Fortune 500 CEOs. Twenty-eight states have fewer.The Cuyahoga natives, with the listed place of birth, are: Rankings could vary slightly because the birth places for 14 players were not immediately available, and rosters can change daily. Second is California with 187, followed by Texas (160), Georgia (97), Ohio (80), Pennsylvania (66) and Louisiana (63). The higher the AV, the greater the career he had. Additionally, Miami wins the all-important Battle for Florida since it has more Pro Bowl selections (181) than Florida State (103) and Florida (89). We're dedicated to keeping Mississippians informed with our thorough reporting. From there, we ranked which state currently has produced the most NFL players. 4-year graduation rate: 66%. 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. 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. And some make NFL players. 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. Others create politicians. The NFL is known world wide for having some of the best athletes in the world. Louisiana QBs have nine Super Bowl wins in 14 starts. Nebraska,. Once we started looking through historic roster data for various NFL teams, we really didnt want to stop. We just dont have available stats on the authors and musicians. The remaining seven states to crack the top 10 are Georgia, Ohio, Alabama, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, North Carolina and New Jersey. Mississippi produces more NFL players per capita than any other state, and its not really that close. In fact, those three states rank 1-2-3 all-time for states where NFL players were born. By clicking Sign up, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider For the Cardinals, this evaluation showed us that there was a particularly strong connection to Notre Dame from the 1920s to the 1950s when the team was located in nearby Chicago. You can only publish select stories individually not as a collection. Remember, were talking about per capita here. The numbers were run through a principle component analysis -- boiling the information down to the most important data points -- to create the overall rankings. Here is a breakdown of the states where the most active NFL players were born Sign up for notifications from Insider! 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. That is reflected by the Gators having the fifth-most active players in the NFL despite being outside the top 10 in total players. 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). Bottom line: Purdue is one of the oldest college football programs. 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). Pennsylvania State University--University. There are 151 NFL players that came from colleges across California. Bottom line: Arkansas has a great football tradition. We support responsible gambling. The District of Columbia, with one NFL player for every 54,702 residents, has the most NFL players per capita. Oct 6, 2011, 8:10 AM Historically, Texas, California, and Pennsylvania have been hotbeds for football talent. A bust is waiting for Brees in Canton. 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. Alabama rounds out the top 5 with 109 active NFL players. This website does not fully support Internet Explorer. You make the call. Bottom line:The dominance of Alabama under Nick Saban isnt limited to just the college game. LSU - 325 10. 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. 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. Most touchdowns in NFL: LeGarrette Blount (58), Most games played in NFL: George Martin (201). In fact, 12 of their Pro Bowl players played either running back or fullback. How 'bout them Cowboys? The school has produced at least one player from every season of NFL football since the league resumed play in 2012. BYU's Zach Wilson will be just the sixth Utah QB to play in the NFL, yet somehow he was runner-up in the state's Mr. Football award. Weve looked at the top states for producing NFL players, but how about the most successful schools within those states? So, it is no surprise to see them on this list. Florida is another NFL-producing machine. You could say it all started with the godfather of football, Pop Warner. Action Network makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the information given or the outcome of any game or event. Read on to see the results. Second is Ohio State with 67, followed by LSU with 62. What state produces the most NFL players header image. 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. Vinny Testaverde. The school actually has more Heisman winners (2) than Pro Football Hall of Famers (1), though Von Miller or even Shane Lechler may one day even things up. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Kelly never got the program to the promised land, and Oregon still is searching for its first national championship. Bledsoe, the No. We believe that an informed Mississippi is a better Mississippi. Heres how the rest of the list shakes out: The college football landscape is already taking shape for the 2022-23 season. 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. Thats a no-brainer. First-rounders: 6. 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. Ohio State's Justin Fields was a five-star recruit at Harrison High. 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. Don Majkowski. LSU's 3 permanent rivals for 9-game SEC schedule have been set, per report, Quinten Dormady, former Tennessee QB, under playbook investigation in XFL, Alabama basketball adds commitment from 4-star forward, Billy Napier addresses Florida staff openings at start of spring practice, BetMGM Massachusetts Bonus Code: How to Claim the $200 Bonus Bet Offer This Weekend, FanDuel Massachusetts Promo: Pre-Launch Special Scores $100 in Bonus Bets, Jalin Hyatt impresses in limited NFL Combine showing, WynnBET Mass Promo Code: How to Claim Big Value with Pre-Launch Bonus, BetMGM UFC 285 Promo Code: Claim $1,000 First Bet Offer on Any Fight, Texas A&M punctuates impressive SEC season with upset of No. 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. Mississippi averages 26.6 NFL players for every 100,000 citizens. The Ducks didn't win another "Granddaddy" until 2011, when Chip Kelly and his high-flying offense beat Wisconsin 45-38. All four of those states are among the top 10 in producing NFL players, so Penn State is in an ideal location to land top talent. In fact, since Saban became coach in 2007, the Crimson Tide have more first-round picks (39) than losses (27). His work as a syndicated columnist and celebrated sports writer has appeared in numerous magazines, periodicals and newspapers. California alone, at 225 active players, accounts for more than ten percent of NFL players. To learn more about our cartoon syndication services. 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). The school has just one first-round NFL pick since the 2011 season with Prince Amukamara going 19th overall in that years draft. But the program has produced some elite NFL stars. And there are currently no players that were born in the state of Vermont. Texas A&M led all Texas college football programs with 37 current NFL players, followed by the University of Texas (29), TCU (25), Baylor (23) and Houston (20). 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. Bottom line:Illinois never won a national championship, but the Illini had two of the most iconic players in NFL history. Always has. That is more than 30 percent of all active players listed Pro-Football-Reference.com. And giving them three is a bit generous since Troy Aikman started his career at OU, but finished it at UCLA. After starring at Snider High School in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Woodson stayed close to home and became an All-American for the Boilermakers. To republish online, simply click the button, copy the html code and paste into your Content Management System (CMS). While ranking 22nd in all-time NFL players, Auburn ranks 23rd in active players after ranking eighth in 2019, pointing to their recent struggles. Be sure to visit the Action Networks NCAAF Odds page each week to the lay of the land for betting lines. Pennsylvania - 443.4 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. No. 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 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. 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. We also looked at career length to find which colleges players have the longest average careers on different NFL teams. 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. North Carolina can claim 121 current NFL players in the league. North Carolina can claim 121 current NFL players in the league. Beyond that local rooting interest, there is at least one Grand Canyon graduate that has a major impact on the fortunes of an NFL franchise, even if most of his work takes place away from the field. 1 in health, wealth and education? If you share our stories on social media, please tag us in your posts using. Still, they dont have decades of winning traditions, which is why they fall a little lower on this list than many might expect. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. But that number dropped to 28 in 2022, due to some lean years for the Seminoles. The 2022 season has seen 58 active players from the Alabama lineage. It's no surprise the schools that dominate on Saturdays see their alumni playing on Sundays. Before making life miserable for NFL defenses, they were doing the same to opponents in college. Without Fitzpatrick's 146 starts, the canyon between Arizona and runner-up Ohio, at 57.6% for its 34 QBs, would be even wider. Most touchdowns in NFL: Mike Alstott (71), Most games played in NFL: Drew Brees (287). Florida, California, Texas, Georgia and Ohio are the states where the most NFL players were born, based on rosters the Monday before the start of the 2016 season, cleveland.com research found. But now, Florida has joined them as one of the three biggest producers of NFL talent. Nick Saban has given NFL franchises 29 first-round picks during his time as Alabama's head coach 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. After Georgia the drop-off is significant. Texas ranks last in ESPN's QB formula because of the expectations given the state's resources. 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 Total enrollment: 46,810. Any amount helps us keep producing quality journalism for Mississippi. AV refers to approximate value and is PFRs attempt to quantify a players career value. Its quality, as well. Stay up to date with what you want to know. 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. Meanwhile, the Magnolia State has plenty to celebrate when it comes to football or writers and entertainers, for that matter. DISCLAIMER: This site is 100% for entertainment purposes only and does not involve real money betting.