With just about six weeks until the 2011 NFL Draft, I thought I would take a quick look here at which universities or colleges have sent the most players to the NFL. Let's first take a look at the all time list, then move on to which schools currently have the most players represented in the NFL. I opted to take the top 25 in each category.
Let's take a look at the lists.
| Rank | School | No, Players | No. Hall of Famers | Top Performers (TDs) | Most Games Played |
| 1 | Notre Dame | 503 | 11 | Tim Brown (105) | John Carney (302) |
| 2 | USC | 438 | 11 | Marcus Allen (145) | Bruce Allen (296) |
| 3 | Ohio State | 378 | 6 | Chris Carter (131) | Jim Marshall (282) |
| 4 | Michigan | 332 | 6 | Elroy Hirsch (66) | Mike Kenn (252) |
| 5 | Penn State | 325 | 5 | Lenny Moore (113) | Matt Bahr (235) |
| 6 | Nebraska | 312 | 3 | Irving Fryar (88) | Irving Fryar (255) |
| 7 | Oklahoma | 296 | 3 | Tommy McDonald (85) | Keith Traylor (229) |
| 8 | Tennessee | 290 | 2 | Stanley Morgan (73) | Reggie White (232) |
| 9 | Pittsburgh | 278 | 7 | Curtis Martin (100) | Dan Marino (242) |
| 10 | LSU | 272 | 3 | Jim Taylor (93) | Kevin Mawae (241) |
| 11 | Miami | 272 | 4 | Edgerrin James (91) | Jeff Feagles (352) |
| 12 | ULCA | 272 | 4 | Wendell Tyler (66) | Norm Johnson (273) |
| 13 | Texas | 268 | 3 | Priest Holmes (94) | Steve McMichael (213) |
| 14 | Wisconsin | 264 | 4 | Elroy Hirsch (66) | Mike Webster (245) |
| 15 | Michigan State | 261 | 2 | Andre Rison (84) | Morton Anderson (382) |
| 16 | Alabama | 260 | 7 | Shaun Alexander (112) | Chris Mohr (239) |
| 17 | Purdue | 254 | 3 | Mile Alstott (71) | Rod Woodson (238) |
| 18 | Illinois | 249 | 5 | Bobby Mitchell (91) | Doug Dieken (203) |
| 19 | Georgia | 248 | 2 | Herschel Walker (84) | John Kasay (285) |
| 20 | Florida | 247 | 2 | Emmit Smith (175) | Lomas Brown (263) |
| 21 | Texas A&M |
246 | 1 | John David Crow (74) | Jerry Fontenot (239) |
| 22 | Washington | 240 | 3 | Corey Dillon (89) | Blair Bush (246) |
| 23 | Minnesota | 233 | 5 | Marion Barber (53) | Carl Eller (225) |
| 24 | Florida State | 225 | 2 | Fred Biletnikoff (77) | Rohn Stark (223) |
| 25 | Arizona State | 224 | 4 | Charley Taylor (90) | Jim Jeffcoat (227) |
| Rank | School | No. Active Players |
| 1 | Texas | 41 |
| 2 | LSU | 40 |
| 3 | Miami | 40 |
| 4 | USC | 39 |
| 5 | Ohio State | 39 |
| 6 | Michigan | 36 |
| 7 | Florida | 36 |
| 8 | Georgia | 35 |
| 9 | California | 33 |
| 10 | Tennessee | 32 |
| 11 | Penn State | 30 |
| 12 | Florida State | 30 |
| 13 | Iowa | 30 |
| 14 | Nebraska | 27 |
| 15 | Oklahoma | 27 |
| 16 | Alabama | 26 |
| 17 | Auburn | 26 |
| 18 | Notre Dame | 25 |
| 19 | Michigan State | 25 |
| 20 | Georgia Tech | 23 |
| 21 | Maryland | 22 |
| 22 | Oregon | 22 |
| 23 | Virginia Tech | 22 |
| 24 | Purdue | 21 |
| 25 | Fresno State | 21 |
Just a few quick notes about the lists:
- It's somewhat interesting to see that despite the rich getting richer, a new batch of schools has made significant inroads in terms of recruiting NFL caliber talent to their campuses. Almost all of them are in the south or the west where the weather's warm and the young co-eds are good looking.
- Traditional powers from the Midwest are still doing just fine at producing NFL talent, but schools like Notre Dame, Penn State, and Nebraska have definitely lost a little bit of ground recruiting top-end talent in recent years.
- How has Pat Hill kept his job at Fresno State? The Bulldogs have pieced together a few good years, and knocked off some notable giants along the way, but for all that talent that has rolled through Fresno in recent years, the Bulldogs have more or less been a disappointment. Something to be said for unselfishness and teamwork I suppose, as many of Fresno State's guys are junior college transfers or guys who are using their collegiate stop as a springboard to make it to the NFL, and little else.
- You know, I may be a bit biased having spent much of my life in Austin, but Texas definitely gets an unfair label as a school that churns out players that aren't mentally ready for the NFL. Sure Vince Young, Ricky Williams and Cedric Benson come to mind as guys whose attitudes have stood in the way of them maximizing their talent, but there's a boatload of current players that are quietly going about their business in the league, and doing so at a very high level.