Best High School Football States by Position

When it comes to determining which states have the best high school football players, California, Texas and Florida are usually the first three to enter the conversation. However, what if you limited each state to only one position? Then which state would come out on top?

MaxPreps has put together a list of the states with the best collections of football players by position. Which state has produced the best quarterbacks of all time? You will see that Pennsylvania was the easy choice. But how about running backs? Hard to beat the group that California has put together over the past 60 years.

Along with providing our choice for the best state for the position, we offer a list of some of the best players at that position to come out of the state. The list is not comprehensive, but merely a sampling of what the state has to offer.


Running Back: California California has been home to three running backs with more than 10,000 career rushing yards (O.J. Simpson, Marcus Allen and Ricky Williams) while five have been elected to the Hall of Fame (Simpson, Allen, Joe Perry, Hugh McElhenny and John Henry Johnson). Two have run for more than 2,000 yards in a season (Terrell Davis and Simpson) and four are among the top running backs in the game today (Marshawn Lynch, Maurice Jones-Drew, Arian Foster and Reggie Bush).

Ricky Williams, Patrick Henry (San Diego)
O.J. Simpson, Galileo (San Francisco)
Marshawn Lynch, Oakland Tech
Maurice Jones-Drew, De La Salle (Concord)
John Henry Johnson, Pittsburg
Arian Foster, Mission Bay (San Diego)
Terrell Davis, Lincoln (San Diego)
Reggie Bush, Helix (La Mesa)
Marcus Allen, Lincoln (San Diego)
Joe Perry, Jordan (Los Angeles)
Hugh McElhenny, George Washington Prep (Los Angeles)

Wide Receiver: Florida No state comes close to matching the receiving firepower that has come out of Florida. Thirteen of the top 100 receivers of all time come from Florida, and five of those have more than 10,000 yards receiving in their careers (Isaac Bruce, Michael Irvin, Chad Johnson, Andre Johnson and Anquan Boldin).

Frank Sanders, Dillard (Fort Lauderdale)
Brett Perriman, Northwestern (Miami)
Santana Moss, Carol City (Miami)
Tony Martin, Northwestern (Miami)
Chad Johnson, Miami Beach
Andre Johnson, Miami
Michael Irvin, St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale)
Randal Hill, Killian (Miami)
Bob Hayes, Matthew Gilbert (Jacksonville) - defunct
Jessie Hester, Glades Central (Belle Glade)
Darrell Jackson, Tampa Catholic
Shawn Jefferson, Raines (Jacksonville)
Ernest Givins, Lakewood (St. Petersburg)
Laveranues Coles, Ribault (Jacksonville)
Wes Chandler, New Smyrna Beach
Anthony Carter, Suncoast (Riviera Beach)
Harold Carmichael, Raines (Jacksonville)
Ken Burrough, Raines (Jacksonville)
Isaac Bruce, Dillard (Fort Lauderdale)
Eddie Brown, Palatka
Anquan Boldin, Pahokee
Brian Blades, Piper (Sunrise)

Quarterback: Pennsylvania Twelve of the top 100 quarterbacks on the career yardage list hail from Pennsylvania. Five have more than 35,000 career passing yards (Dan Marino, Kerry Collins, Joe Montana, Johnny Unitas and Jim Kelly) and six are in the Hall of Fame (Unitas, Marino, Montana, Kelly, Joe Namath and George Blanda).

John Unitas, St. Justin's (Pittsburgh) - closed
Matt Schaub, East (West Chester)
Matt Ryan, William Penn Charter (Philadelphia)
Babe Parilli, Rochester Area
Joe Namath, Beaver Falls
Joe Montana, Ringgold (Monongahela)
Dan Marino, Central Catholic (Pittsburgh)
Johnny Lujack, Connellsville
Jim Kelly, East Brady - closed
Chad Henne, Wilson (West Lawn)
Rich Gannon, St. Joseph's Prep (Philadelphia)
Gus Frerotte, Ford City
Kerry Collins, Wilson (West Lawn)
Marc Bulger, Central Catholic (Pittsburgh)
George Blanda, Youngwood - closed

Offensive Line: Ohio This is a deep group that includes linemen all the way back to the 1920s in Hall of Famers Pete Henry and Mike Michalske. Other Hall of Famers include Dan Dierdorf, Tom Mack, Lou Groza, Bob Brown and Jim Parker. Orlando Pace, meanwhile, is a future Hall of Famer.

Lou Groza, Martins Ferry
Jim Ritcher, Highland (Medina)
Andy McCollum, Revere (Richfield)
Jim Tyrer, Newark
Doug Smith, Northland (Columbus)
Tom Mack, Cleveland Heights
Bill Lenkaitis, South (Youngstown) - closed
Ken Lanier, Marion-Franklin (Columbus)
Kirk Lowdermilk, Salem
Dick Schafrath, Wooster
Ernie Wright, Scott (Toledo)
Orlando Pace, Sandusky
Dan Dierdorf, GlenOak (Canton) - formerly Glenwood High
Matt Light, Greenville
Bob Vogel, Brilliant - closed
Jim Lachey, St. Henry
Bob Brown, East Tech (Cleveland)
Nick Mangold, Archbishop Alter (Kettering)
Doug France, Colonel White (Dayton)
Mike Michalske, West Tech (Cleveland) - closed
Pete Henry, Mansfield Senior
Jim Parker, Scott (Toledo)

Defensive Line: Texas Four of the best linemen in NFL history (Joe Greene, Michael Strahan, John Randle and Bob Lilly) all prepped in Texas (although Lilly graduated in Oregon). There are plenty of All-Pros on the list as well, including Harvey Martin, AFL standout Jerry Mays and rising star Brian Orakpo.

Michael Strahan, Westbury (Houston)
Ed Sprinkle, Jim Ned (Tuscola)
Bubba Smith, Charlton-Pollard (Beaumont) - closed
Brian Orakpo, Lamar (Houston)
Jerry Mays, Sunset (Dallas)
Harvey Martin, South Oak Cliff (Dallas)
Dexter Manley, Yates (Houston)
Cedric Hardman, George Washington Carver (Houston)
Bill Glass, Ray (Corpus Christi)
Don Floyd, Midlothian
Henry Thomas, Eisenhower (Houston)
Tom Sestak, Gonzales
Shaun Rogers, La Porte
John Randle, Hearne
Steve McMichael, Freer
Bud McFadin, Iraan
Bob Lilly, Throckmorton
Louie Kelcher, French (Beaumont) - closed
Jim Hunt, Booker T. Washington (Texarkana) - closed
Joe Greene, Dunbar (Temple) - closed
Doug English, Adams (Dallas)
Sam Adams, Cypress Creek (Houston)

Linebackers – Illinois Not a lot of quantity, but there is good quality. When you think of middle linebackers over the history of the NFL, Ray Nitschke and Dick Butkus are the epitome of what a middle linebacker should be. George Connor was also a great one for the Bears when they were the Monsters of the Midway.

Ray Nitschke, Proviso East (Maywood)
Dick Butkus, Chicago Vocational
Gregg Bingham, Gordon Tech (Chicago)
George Connor, De La Salle (Chicago)

Defensive Backs – Louisiana This is a solid group with a lot of longevity. Richie Petitbon, Johnny Robinson and Rosey Taylor were standouts in the 1960s while Aeneas Williams and Albert Lewis were standouts in the 1990s. Ed Reed, meanwhile, is considered one of the all-time greats at safety.

Albert Lewis, Mansfield, formerly DeSoto (Mansfield)
Aeneas Williams, Lusher (New Orleans), formerly Alcee Fortier
Eugene Daniel, Robert E. Lee (Baton Rouge) - closed
Lionel Washington, Lutcher
Ashley Ambrose, Lusher, formerly Alcee Fortier
Otis Smith, East Jefferson (Metairie)
Richie Petitbon, Jesuit (New Orleans)
Rosey Taylor, Clark (New Orleans)
Johnny Robinson, University Lab (Baton Rouge)
Patrick Surtain, Karr (New Orleans)
Ed Reed, Destrehan
Ike Taylor, Abramson (New Orleans)
Steve Foley, Jesuit (New Orleans)
Ryan Clark, Archbishop Shaw (Marrero)