Where the players are!

MNSpaniel

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http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/draft-history-graphic.htm The above link should end all the arguing about where to go for the best players. It is an interesting map. The darker the color of the state the more players in the NFL. Just click on a state. The surrounding states to us are similar: Iowa, Neb, MN are very close. Wisconsin has us by a few. You can click on top and it will shift categories for example: NFL players by college. It is one of the easiest and best that I've seen to surf through .... enjoy!
 

Click on High School

To find out what states produce the most NFL players click on the heading High School on top.
 

This was interesting to look at and it appears that the Minnesota high school football programs appear to not be developing as high a percentage of top level players as some of the smaller populated states in the midwest.
 

A quick look at the map will show why we're trying so hard to develop a recuiting presense in La. It's in fifth place, yet it's under recuited by major conference teams outside the SEC, Texas A&M and Texas Tech are exceptions.
 

Another stat?

Would be interesting on the high school stat if the numbers were adjusted for population. Florida, Texas and Calif have large populations. Even so they would still be up there in the rankings.

Any math majors reading this?
 


Would be interesting on the high school stat if the numbers were adjusted for population. Florida, Texas and Calif have large populations. Even so they would still be up there in the rankings.

Any math majors reading this?

BINGO. Any way you shake up the numbers, Texas and Florida are hotbeds for high school talent. However, everything on those lists are tainted by the fact they do not account for population differences between the states.
 

Computer Science major here and I can tell you that, even though we have a very similar population to Wisconsin, we have almost half the talent they do. :(
 

Computer Science major here and I can tell you that, even though we have a very similar population to Wisconsin, we have almost half the talent they do. :(

:confused: If 49 is "almost half" of 65, then yes, you are correct.
 

Computer Science major here and I can tell you that, even though we have a very similar population to Wisconsin, we have almost half the talent they do. :(

49 for Minnesota, 65 for Wisconsin (and Wisconsin's population is a bit more than MN). I am not a computer/math guy but that is not half.

If you are talking about college, then it is a comment on the strength of the respective colleges and since the bulk of players from Wisconsin colleges come from UofW and the bulk of players from Minnesota colleges in the NFL come from the UofM, it is simply evidence the Badgers have probably been better than the Gophers for the period of time represented. That is why Iowa looks pretty good on the college tab too because in that case they have more D1 football programs.

The high school tab is much more telling in terms of which state PRODUCES high amounts of NFL talent. Keep in mind that the college tab would have Michael Floyd as an Indiana college product.
 




I'm seeing 43 picks from Minnesota, and 83 picks from Wisconsin...
 

You can definitely see in particular the disparity in talent produced by Iowa and Nebraska high schools compared to Minnesota when taking into account population differences. I think it just shows which states put more of an emphasis on youth and high school football.
 

Comparing two different categories

You guys are comparing two different categories. The High School numbers favor Wisconsin vs MN 65 to 49. If you go by all colleges in the State: It is again in Wisconsin's favor again 83 to 43. I'm a Minnesota homer but at least according to the map the Cheeseheads get bragging rights.
 



You can definitely see in particular the disparity in talent produced by Iowa and Nebraska high schools compared to Minnesota when taking into account population differences. I think it just shows which states put more of an emphasis on youth and high school football.

Ever wonder how many NHL players are from Iowa and Nebraska?
 

Interesting

of the 49 only 21 went to the U. 43%

Since 1997 only 9 of the last 28 have gone to the U. 32%

Pretty bad for only D1 team in the state.

Wisconsin 33 of 65 for 50%
Iowa & Iowa State 23 or 45 for 51%
 



As someone with a degree in geography, I must stay that by not doing this per capita the maps are meaningless. The states with more people usually have more players in the league.... duh.

If you dig deeper (which the map should do for you) you can see that states like Mississippi and Alabama would probably be atop the rankings (high school) if the map was done correctly.
 

Top 10 per capita

You can find almost anything on the internet. Here you go on per capita:
http://www.dawgsports.com/story/2006/7/6/215838/4402


Based upon those figures---the most recent official census numbers in our possession---here is how the top 10 states rank on a per capita basis, rounded off to the nearest whole number:

1. Louisiana - 1 N.F.L. player per 58,802 people
2. South Carolina - 1 N.F.L. player per 83,584 people
3. Florida - 1 N.F.L. player per 89,287 people
4. Georgia - 1 N.F.L. player per 90,961 people
5. Texas - 1 N.F.L. player per 118,476 people
6. Virginia - 1 N.F.L. player per 144,460 people
7. Ohio - 1 N.F.L. player per 145,553 people
8. California - 1 N.F.L. player per 170,209 people
9. Michigan - 1 N.F.L. player per 198,769 people
10. Pennsylvania - 1 N.F.L. player per 211,742 people


link http://www.dawgsports.com/story/2006/7/6/215838/4402
 

You can find almost anything on the internet. Here you go on per capita:
http://www.dawgsports.com/story/2006/7/6/215838/4402


Based upon those figures---the most recent official census numbers in our possession---here is how the top 10 states rank on a per capita basis, rounded off to the nearest whole number:

1. Louisiana - 1 N.F.L. player per 58,802 people
2. South Carolina - 1 N.F.L. player per 83,584 people
3. Florida - 1 N.F.L. player per 89,287 people
4. Georgia - 1 N.F.L. player per 90,961 people
5. Texas - 1 N.F.L. player per 118,476 people
6. Virginia - 1 N.F.L. player per 144,460 people
7. Ohio - 1 N.F.L. player per 145,553 people
8. California - 1 N.F.L. player per 170,209 people
9. Michigan - 1 N.F.L. player per 198,769 people
10. Pennsylvania - 1 N.F.L. player per 211,742 people


link http://www.dawgsports.com/story/2006/7/6/215838/4402


By my math Mississippi turns out one player per 21,445 people (137 people, population 2,938,000) which would put it atop this list by a wide margin. I didn't do any other states, but thought that list immediately seemed wrong. That website appears to have only used the top 10 states as a starting point and not all 50 states.
 

You may be right

Omega,

You may be correct in that assumption. I just grabbed the link without really studying it in depth.
 

of the 49 only 21 went to the U. 43%

Since 1997 only 9 of the last 28 have gone to the U. 32%

Pretty bad for only D1 team in the state.

Wisconsin 33 of 65 for 50%
Iowa & Iowa State 23 or 45 for 51%


Think Maturi had that information when he decided to go find a recruiter to coach this team?
 

Omega,

You may be correct in that assumption. I just grabbed the link without really studying it in depth.

Isn't the USA Today piece based on draft results? It looks like the link you posted is based on current active players (at the time of its posting). It's really apples to oranges so I would expect the numbers to be quite different.

Personally, I think basing it on current players in the NFL makes a lot more sense than on draft results. A fair number of players drafted in the later rounds never even make the team. Also, there are quite a few undrafted free agents that are collecting NFL paychecks as well.
 

I assume they went with draft results because it's easier to quantify since they don't change.
 

Keep in mind this is draft picks which is influenced by college program success. There are going to be fewer draft picks from Minnesota than talent levels would indicate for a couple reasons. 1. The lack of success of Gopher football 2. Only having 1 d-1 team and no 1-AA (or now bowl sub division team) in the state. The second one hurts the number because fewer Minnesota kids get a chance to play football at a level that scouts routinely vist. A Ryan Hoag still gets drafted out of Gustavus Adolphus, but those examples are few and far between. A player like Ben Utecht does not make this list because he was not drafted, yet Utecht earned a significant 2nd contract in the league and is probably had a bigger impact in the NFL than more than half of the guys who were drafted. Todd Bouman would be another example of a Minnesota kid who's not on the list but has had a long NFL career.
 




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