I stumbled across this in the USA Today last week:
The Link
It's a map of the US and a state by state break down of how many NFL players came from each state from 1998 to 2008. This fascinated me and it helps explain recruiting and why some schools are and always will be better than others.
California, Texas, and Florida were the usual suspects when it came to the leaders but I found the per capita breakdown interesting:
Here are some states in our region, their total player count and a ratio of player per thousands of people.
Texas - 592 total picks - 1 player for every 38,000 people
Louisiana - 240 total picks - 1 player for every 17,000 people (Stunning, BTW.)
Mississippi - 135 total picks - 1 player for every 21,600 people
Oklahoma - 79 total picks - 1 player for every 44,000 people
Tennessee - 96 total picks - 1 player for every 62,500 people (pathetic)
Arkansas - 54 total picks - 1 player for every 51,000 people
California - 732 picks - 1 player for every 49,000 people
Florida - 565 picks - 1 player for every 31,000
What surprised me at first was Louisiana. 240 picks in a state that size is amazing. That have a rate twice what Texas has. It's a miracle they were mediocre for so long.
Despite being large states, Texas and Florida still have impressive per capita rates.
New Jersey turns out a lot (138) despite only having one college program that traditionally hasn't been very good. I always thought Rutgers was a sleeping giant if they could get their act together.
Missouri was pathetic. They're a semi large state and they had 67 picks. That's 1 player for every 85,000 people.
Tennessee was almost as bad. They had 96 players and that's 1 for every 62,000.
Oklahoma had a low showing considering that state has one top tier program and one mid tier one, both in a BCS conference. They had an OK amount and an OK rate. That just shows that both OU and Okie State troll Texas heavily for players.
North Carolina had a decent amount (169) considering none of the programs there are a traditional power.
In the end, this map kind of shows why some schools like Ohio State, USC, Texas, Michigan, OU and the Florida schools will always be powers. If they're not, they just fire a coach and the new one rebounds quickly. Recruiting is easy there.
It also shows why a school like Nebraska will have a hard time coming back. Nebraska and it's surrounding states aren't exactly a hotbed of football talent.
Interesting list nonetheless, though....
The Link
It's a map of the US and a state by state break down of how many NFL players came from each state from 1998 to 2008. This fascinated me and it helps explain recruiting and why some schools are and always will be better than others.
California, Texas, and Florida were the usual suspects when it came to the leaders but I found the per capita breakdown interesting:
Here are some states in our region, their total player count and a ratio of player per thousands of people.
Texas - 592 total picks - 1 player for every 38,000 people
Louisiana - 240 total picks - 1 player for every 17,000 people (Stunning, BTW.)
Mississippi - 135 total picks - 1 player for every 21,600 people
Oklahoma - 79 total picks - 1 player for every 44,000 people
Tennessee - 96 total picks - 1 player for every 62,500 people (pathetic)
Arkansas - 54 total picks - 1 player for every 51,000 people
California - 732 picks - 1 player for every 49,000 people
Florida - 565 picks - 1 player for every 31,000
What surprised me at first was Louisiana. 240 picks in a state that size is amazing. That have a rate twice what Texas has. It's a miracle they were mediocre for so long.
Despite being large states, Texas and Florida still have impressive per capita rates.
New Jersey turns out a lot (138) despite only having one college program that traditionally hasn't been very good. I always thought Rutgers was a sleeping giant if they could get their act together.
Missouri was pathetic. They're a semi large state and they had 67 picks. That's 1 player for every 85,000 people.
Tennessee was almost as bad. They had 96 players and that's 1 for every 62,000.
Oklahoma had a low showing considering that state has one top tier program and one mid tier one, both in a BCS conference. They had an OK amount and an OK rate. That just shows that both OU and Okie State troll Texas heavily for players.
North Carolina had a decent amount (169) considering none of the programs there are a traditional power.
In the end, this map kind of shows why some schools like Ohio State, USC, Texas, Michigan, OU and the Florida schools will always be powers. If they're not, they just fire a coach and the new one rebounds quickly. Recruiting is easy there.
It also shows why a school like Nebraska will have a hard time coming back. Nebraska and it's surrounding states aren't exactly a hotbed of football talent.
Interesting list nonetheless, though....
