St. Thomas Aquinas H.S. in Fort Lauderdale has most NFL players; California tops states, Miami leads cities
Steve Alic, Director of Communications Fri, 09/14/2012 - 11:01am
St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., had nine graduates on NFL Kickoff Weekend rosters, topping the list of high schools with the most players on opening week NFL rosters.
The totals are based on the 1,691 men on Kickoff Weekend rosters, including those both active and inactive.
NFL players hail from 1,382high schools in 47 states and the District of Columbia, four international countries and one U.S. territory (American Samoa).
HIGH SCHOOLS WITH MOST NFL PLAYERS
|
High school, city, state |
Number |
NFL Players |
|
St. Thomas Aquinas, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. |
9 |
Geno Atkins, CIN; Jeremy Cain, JAX; Marcus Gilbert, PIT; Tavares Gooden, SF; Richard Goodman, SD; Leonard Hankerson, WAS; Christian Thompson, BAL; Major Wright, CHI; Sam Young, BUF |
|
Pahokee High School, Pahokee, Fla. |
5 |
Dwight Bentley, DET; Anquan Boldin, BAL; Janoris Jenkins, StL; Pernell McPhee, BAL; Antone Smith, ATL |
|
Stephenson High School, Stone Mountain, Ga. |
5 |
Jermaine Cunningham, NE; Bruce Irvin, SEA; Kregg Lumpkin, SEA; Perry Riley, WAS; Kelvin Sheppard, BUF |
|
Woodland Hills High School, Pittsburgh, Pa. |
5 |
Steve Breaston, KC; Rob Gronkowski, NE; Ryan Mundy, PIT; Lousaka Polite, ATL; Shawntae Spencer, OAK |
Seventeen high schools have four players each in the NFL this year. Forty schools boast three NFL players, while 158 have two apiece:
|
High School, City, State |
NFL Players |
High School, City, State |
NFL Players |
|
Atlantic, Delray Beach, Fla. |
4 |
Lakeland, Lakeland, Fla. |
4 |
|
Carroll, Southlake, Texas |
4 |
Long Beach Poly, Long Beach, Calif. |
4 |
|
Deep Creek High School, Chesapeake, Va, |
4 |
Lufkin, Lufkin, Texas |
4 |
|
DeMatha Catholic, Hyattsville, Md. |
4 |
Marist, Atlanta, Ga. |
4 |
|
Dominguez, Compton, Calif. |
4 |
North Shore, Houston, Texas |
4 |
|
Dunbar, Washington, D.C. |
4 |
Robert E. Lee, Tyler, Texas |
4 |
|
Elder, Cincinnati, Ohio |
4 |
Servite, Anaheim, Calif. |
4 |
|
Glades Central, Belle Glade, Fa. |
4 |
Westlake, Austin, Texas |
4 |
|
Hahnville, Boutte, La. |
4 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Number of high schools with three NFL players: 40 |
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Number of high schools with two NFL players: 158 |
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Number of high schools with one NFL player: 1,163 |
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HOME STATES: California tops the list of states with the most NFL players (207), followed by Texas (200) and Florida (189):
STATES WITH MOST NFL PLAYERS
|
State |
NFL Players |
State |
NFL Players |
|
California |
207 |
New Jersey |
52 |
|
Texas |
200 |
Alabama |
49 |
|
Florida |
189 |
North Carolina |
48 |
|
Georgia |
92 |
Michigan |
47 |
|
Ohio |
81 |
Virginia |
46 |
|
Louisiana |
61 |
South Carolina |
45 |
|
Pennsylvania |
58 |
Illinois |
42 |
HOMETOWNS: Miami heads the list of hometowns with the most players (30), followed by Houston (23) and Los Angeles (17):
HOMETOWNS WITH MOST NFL PLAYERS
|
Hometown |
NFL Players |
Hometown |
NFL Players |
|
|
Miami |
30 |
Jacksonville |
12 |
|
|
Houston |
23 |
New Orleans |
10 |
|
|
Los Angeles |
17 |
Atlanta |
9 |
|
|
Dallas |
14 |
Pittsburgh |
9 |
|
|
Cincinnati |
13 |
Washington |
9 |
|
|
Detroit |
13 |
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NFL PLAYERS PER CAPITA: Washington, D.C., with one NFL player for every 66,858 residents, leads the list of NFL players per capita. Louisiana (1 in 74,318) and Mississippi (1 in 89,918) round out the top three. The national average is one NFL player per 185,879U.S. residents.
STATES WITH MOST NFL PLAYERS PER CAPITA
|
State |
Population * |
NFL Players |
NFL Players Per Capita |
|
|
District of Columbia |
601,723 |
9 |
|
1 NFL playerper 66,858 people |
|
Louisiana |
4,533,372 |
61 |
|
1 NFL playerper 74,318 people |
|
Mississippi |
2,967,297 |
33 |
|
1 NFL playerper 89,918 people |
|
Alabama |
4,779,736 |
49 |
|
1 NFL player per 97,546 people |
|
Florida |
18,801,310 |
189 |
|
1 NFL player per 99,478 people |
|
South Carolina |
4,625,364 |
45 |
|
1 NFL player per 102,786 people |
|
Georgia |
9,687,653 |
92 |
|
1 NFL playerper 105,301 people |
|
Hawaii |
1,360,301 |
12 |
|
1 NFL playerper 113,358 people |
|
Texas |
25,145,561 |
200 |
|
1 NFL playerper 125,728 people |
|
Montana |
989,415 |
7 |
|
1 NFL playerper 141,345 people |
|
United States |
308,745,538 |
1,661 |
|
1 NFL player per 185,879 people |
|
* Based on most recent published U.S. Census Data (2010). |
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AMERICAN SAMOA: The United States territory of American Samoa has four NFL players: Cincinnati DT Domata Peko, Miami DT Paul Soliai, San Francisco DT Isaac Sopoaga and Chicago DT Matt Toeaina.
NOTE: To obtain a complete list of NFL players’ high schools, states and hometowns, plus rankings both alphabetically and numerically, contact the NFL Communications Department (212-450-2000) or visit: www.nflmedia.com.
About USA Football
USA Football, the sport’s national governing body in the United States, inspires participation, and ensures a positive experience for all youth, high school, and other amateur players.The independent non-profit hosts more than 80 football training events annually for coaches, players and youth football league commissioners. USA Football is the official youth football development partner of the NFL and its 32 teams and manages U.S. national teams for international competition. Endowed by the NFL and NFL Players Association in 2002 through the NFL Youth Football Fund, USA Football distributes $1 million annually in equipment grants and offers youth league volunteer background check subsidies. Former NFL team executive Carl Peterson is USA Football’s chairman.
