As expected, high schools from California (211 players), Texas (181) and Florida (177) are by far the leading producers of current NFL players.
But it's somewhat unheralded
Woodland Hills (Pittsburgh, Pa.) that leads all single schools with six former players in the Sunday league.
Those players are: Steve Breaston (Arizona), Rob Gronkowski (New England), Ryan Mundy (Pittsburgh), Lousake Polite (Miami), Shawntae Spencer (San Francisco) and Jason Taylor (New York Jets).
Though Woodland Hills has just a 43-29 record over the last six-plus seasons, it was 12-2 last year and finished No. 3 in the state in the MaxPreps Freeman rankings.
"It is a very disciplined program," Breaston, a wide receiver for the Cardinals, told USA Football, which annually releases the figures. "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."
Three more perennial and recognizable national powers - No. 13
St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), No. 15
Glenville (Cleveland) and No. 20
De La Salle (Concord, Calif.), which are all currently in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 national rankings presented by the Army National Guard, are next most with five current NFL standouts.
Former players from St. Thomas Aquinas in the NFL are Geno Atkins (Cincinnati), Jeremy Cain (Jacksonville), Tavares Gooden (Baltimore), Major Wright (Chicago) and Sam Young (Dallas).
The alums from Glenville are Troy Smith and Ted Ginn (San Francisco), Antwaun Molden (Houston), Robert Rose (Miami) and Donte Whitner (Buffalo).
No. 20 De La Salle's professional alums are Jackie Bates (Kansas City), Maurice Jones-Drew (Jacksonville), Derek Landri (Carolina), T.J. Ward (Cleveland) and D.J. Williams (Denver).
There are 14 schools with four former players in the NFL. Those are
Corsicana (Texas),
Deep Creek (Chesapeake, Va.),
DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.),
Dorsey (Los Angeles),
Dunbar (Baltimore),
Roosevelt (Greenbelt, Md.),
Glades Central (Belle Glade, Fla.),
Lake Highlands (Dallas),
Los Alamitos (Calif.),
Madison Central (Miss.),
South Panola (Batesville, Miss.),
Tustin (Calif.),
Vista (Calif.) and
Wayzata (Plymouth, Minn.).
Ohio (85) follows the big three with players produced followed by Georgia (80), Louisiana (68), Pennsylvania (56), New Jersey (55), Michigan (53), Alabama (50), Virginia (50), South Carolina (46), Illinois (43) and North Carolina (42).
The leading state per capita for the second straight year is Louisiana (one per 64,720 people), followed by Mississippi (1/76,883), Hawaii (1/80,769), District of Columbia (1/81,723) and South Carolina (1/87,218). Of the big three, only Texas is among the top 10 at No. 9 (1/115,843). Montana is 10th at 1/128,885.
American Samoa,
recently featured on 60 Minutes, has six players in the NFL. Its population is approximately 65,000.
For more information, go to
usafootball.com.
