Woodland Hills High School (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), with six players, tops the list of high schools with the most 2010 NFL players, USA Football announced today.
The totals are based on the 1,696-man 2010 NFL Kickoff Weekend rosters.
“It is a very disciplined program,” says Arizona Cardinals wide receiver STEVE BREASTON of Woodland Hills. “Coach (GEORGE) NOVAK does a good job of preparing players on the field and off the field. It is a program that prepares you for the future. A lot of Division I athletes come out of that school. You are always competing, not just against other schools, but within that school. It really pushes you and prepares you to compete at the next level.”
NFL players hail from 1,404 high schools in 48 states and the District of Columbia, four countries and one U.S. territory (American Samoa).
HIGH SCHOOLS WITH MOST NFL PLAYERS
| High School, City, State | Number | NFL Players |
| Woodland Hills High School, Pittsburgh, PA | 6 | Steve Breaston, ARZ; Rob Gronkowski, NE; Ryan Mundy, PIT; Lousaka Polite, MIA; Shawntae Spencer, SF; Jason Taylor, NYJ |
| De La Salle, Concord, CA | 5 | Jackie Bates, KC; Maurice Jones-Drew, JAX; Derek Landri, CAR; T.J. Ward, CLE; D.J. Williams, DEN |
| Glenville High School, Cleveland, OH | 5 | Ted Ginn, SF; Antwaun Molden, HOU; Robert Rose, MIA; Troy Smith, SF; Donte Whitner, BUF |
| St. Thomas Aquinas, Ft. Lauderdale, FL | 5 | Geno Atkins, CIN; Jeremy Cain, JAX; Tavares Gooden, BAL; Major Wright, CHI; Sam Young, DAL |
Fourteen high schools have four players each in the NFL this year. Thirty-seven schools boast three NFLers, while 165 have two players apiece:
| High School, City, State | NFL Players | High School, City, State | NFL Players |
| Corsicana, Corsicana, TX | 4 | Lake Highlands, Dallas, TX | 4 |
| Deep Creek, Chesapeake, VA | 4 | Los Alamitos, Los Alamitos, CA | 4 |
| DeMatha Catholic, Hyattsville, MD | 4 | Madison Central, Madison, MS | 4 |
| Dorsey, Los Angeles, CA | 4 | South Panola, Batesville, MS | 4 |
| Dunbar, Washington, DC | 4 | Tustin, Tustin, CA | 4 |
| Eleanor Roosevelt, Greenbelt, MD | 4 | Vista, Vista, CA | 4 |
| Glades Central, Belle Glade, FL | 4 | Wayzata, Plymouth, MN | 4 |
| Number of high schools with 3 NFL players: 37 |
| Number of high schools with 2 NFL players: 165 |
| Number of high schools with 1 NFL player: 1,177 |
HOME STATES: California tops the list of states with the most NFL players (211), followed by Texas (181) and Florida (177):
STATES WITH MOST NFL PLAYERS
| State | NFL Players | State | NFL Players | ||
| California | 211 | New Jersey | 55 | ||
| Texas | 181 | Michigan | 53 | ||
| Florida | 177 | Alabama | 50 | ||
| Ohio | 85 | Virginia | 50 | ||
| Georgia | 80 | South Carolina | 46 | ||
| Louisiana | 68 | Illinois | 43 | ||
| Pennsylvania | 56 | North Carolina | 42 | ||
HOMETOWNS: Houston heads the list of hometowns with the most players (24), followed by Miami (22) and Los Angeles (20):
HOMETOWNS WITH MOST NFL PLAYERS
| Hometown | NFL Players | Hometown | NFL Players | |
| Houston | 24 | Cincinnati | 11 | |
| Miami | 22 | Cleveland | 11 | |
| Los Angeles | 20 | Tampa | 10 | |
| Detroit | 15 | Atlanta | 9 | |
| New Orleans | 15 | Chicago | 9 | |
| Dallas | 12 | Sacramento | 9 | |
| Jacksonville | 12 | |||
NFL PLAYERS PER CAPITA: Louisiana, with one NFL player for every 65,720 residents, leads the list of NFL players per capita. Mississippi (1 in 76,883) and Hawaii (1 in 80,769) rounds out the top three. The national average is one NFL player per 165,933 U.S. residents.
STATES WITH MOST NFL PLAYERS PER CAPITA
| State | Population * | NFL Players | NFL Players Per Capita | |
| Louisiana | 4,468,976 | 68 | 1 NFL per 65,720 people | |
| Mississippi | 2,844,658 | 37 | 1 NFL per 76,883 people | |
| Hawaii | 1,211,537 | 15 | 1 NFL per 80,769 people | |
| District of Columbia | 572,059 | 7 | 1 NFL per 81,723 people | |
| South Carolina | 4,012,012 | 46 | 1 NFL per 87,218 people | |
| Alabama | 4,447,100 | 50 | 1 NFL per 88,942 people | |
| Florida | 15,982,378 | 177 | 1 NFL per 90,296 people | |
| Georgia | 8,186,453 | 80 | 1 NFL per 102,331 people | |
| Texas | 20,851,820 | 180 | 1 NFL per 115,843 people | |
| Montana | 902,195 | 7 | 1 NFL per 128,885 people | |
| United States | 281,421,906 | 1,696 | 1 NFL player per 165,933 people | |
| * Based on most recent published U.S. Census Data (2000). | ||||
AMERICAN SAMOA: The United States territory of American Samoa has six NFL players, including two with the Cincinnati Bengals – DE Jonathan Fanene and DT Domata Peko. The others are Seattle DT Junior Siavii, Chicago DT Matt Toeaina, Miami DT Paul Soliai and San Francisco DT Isaac Sopoaga.
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 log on to www.nflmedia.com.
About USA Football
USA Football, the sport’s national governing body on youth and amateur levels, leads the game’s development, 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, its 32 teams and the NFL Players Association and manages U.S. national teams for international competition. Endowed by the NFL and NFLPA in 2002 through the NFL Youth Football Fund, USA Football (usafootball.com) 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.
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correct, California has twice the population of Florida.
uh they did………. that's what "nfl players per capita" does…………..but "meaningful" depends on how you want to look at it. California has produced the most nfl players of any state. Obviously a huge characteristic of any state is its population. Some may want to construe California's large population as giving it some kind of "unfair advantage." But its population is a huge reason of what makes California, well, California. Large population leads to increased competition, which produces the most and the best players of any state in the country.
completely late and random, but I see you missed Aplington-Parkersburg high school in Iowa. There are currently 5 active NFL players that graduated from there.
NFL Players from Youngstown, OH
Bob Babich – Chargers, Browns
Keith Browner – 5 teams
Joey Browner – Vikings
Ross Browner – Bengals
Prescott Burgess – Ravens
Maurice Clarett – Broncos
Matt Cavanaugh – Niners, Eagles
Doug Datish – Falcons
Bob Dove – Cardinals, Lions
Mike Flores – Eagles, Niners, Skins
Anthony Floyd – Texans
John Gerek – Vikings, Rams
David Givens – Patriots, notably
Randy Gradishar – Broncos
Ron Jaworski – Eagles
Cliff Stoudt – Steelers
Bernie Kosar – Browns
William Leonard – Colts
Paul McGuire – Bills
Mario Manningham – Giants
Paul McFadden – Eagles
Jeff Wilkins – Rams
Ed Muransky – Raiders
Jerry Olsavsky – Steelers
George Pochner – Lions
Keiwan Ratliff – Bengals
Frank Sinkwich – Lions (1942 Heisman Winner)
Brad Smith – Jets
Sherman Smith – Seahawks
Korey Stringer – Vikings
Russell Stuvaints – Steelers
Mel Tripplett – Giants
Steve Vallos – Seahawks
Mike Zordich – Eagles
plus:
Ed & Denise DeBartolo – owner 49ers
Carmen Policy – former GM 49ers, Browns
Bob Stoops – Head coach, Oklahoma
Mike Stoops – Head coach, Arizona
Bo Pellini – Head coach , Nebraska
Jim Tressell – head coach, Ohio State
Mike Trgovac – Defensive coordinator, Carolina Panthers
Mark Mangino – head coach, Kansas
Bob Davie – former head coach, Notre Dame
Dwight "Dike" Beede – head coach, Youngstown State. Inventor of the penalty flag.
forgot bradley fletcher on the Rams
Tyrann Mattews just made 34th NFL player to come out of St. Augustine High School of New Orleans.