Video: High school highlights of Marcus Mariota
Watch the former St. Louis (Honolulu) standout run and pass his way to All-American honors.There are countless givens in this world — the sun rises in the morning, the sun sets in the evening, and high school football players in Florida, Texas and California impress all year round.
That's especially true for day one of the NFL Draft, when all red-blooded Americans tune in to see where the next new flock of talent will land.
Over the last 10 season (2006-16), high school products from Florida (49 players), Texas (41) and California (30) have had their names called most frequently during the first round of the NFL Draft.
Big-name Florida natives taken early in the past decade include
St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale) defensive end
Joey Bosa (third by Chargers in 2016),
Escambia (Pensacola) running back
Trent Richardson (third by the Browns in 2012) and
Oviedo quarterback
Blake Bortles (third by the Jaguars in 2014).
Though the Lone Star state is second in overall first-rounders, it leads the pack in Top 10 picks over the decade with 17, followed by Florida (13), Alabama (nine) and California (eight).
Among those 17 Texas natives, a pair of quarterbacks,
Highland Park (Dallas) alum
Matthew Stafford (Lions 2009) and
Stratford (Houston) graduate
Andrew Luck (Colts 2012), were No. 1 overall selections.
Other facts and first-round figures over the last decade.
* Rounding out the Top 10 states with most first-rounders selected: Georgia (22), Alabama (17), New Jersey (14), Ohio (14), Virginia (13), South Carolina (12) and North Carolina (11).
* Hawaii has had only three first-round picks, but all were among the Top 10:
St. Louis (Honolulu) quarterback
Marcus Mariota (No. 2, Titans 2015),
Punahou (Honolulu) defensive end
DeForest Buckner (No. 7, 49ers 2016) and St. Louis defensive end
Tyson Aiualu (No. 10, Jaguars 2010)
* Other states with more than half of their first-round picks in the Top 10: Alabama (17 picks, nine among Top 10), Louisiana (10/6) and Arizona (3/2).
* Four states have made their only first-round selection among the top 10 overall: Iowa, North Dakota, Nevada and Oregon.
* That lone North Dakota pick was
Century (Bismarck) quarterback
Carson Wentz, who went second overall last season to the Eagles.
* If the mock draft boards are accurate, one can add these totals after Thursday's 2017 first round: 4 picks — Texas and Ohio; 3 picks — Alabama and New Jersey; 2 picks — California, Florida, Wisconsin and Georgia; 1 pick — Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Colorado, South Carolina, Michigan, Utah, Missouri, Washington and Illinois.
