A Dissertation on the Representation of NCAA Teams in the NFL –OR– What Makes Up an NFL Roster?

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Preface/Disclaimer:

All of this data is based on the rosters listed on ESPN.

The average NFL team has approximately 63 players listed on their roster on the ESPN page (varying from the Vikings having 55 to the Bills having 73).  Now, this is clearly more than the NFL limit of 53 players on the active roster, so the numbers in the rest of this diary won’t be 100% correct, but they are based on what ESPN says.  Additionally, there were a few quirks in the positional listings, such as occasionally having OL listed, instead of OT or G.  In one of the analyses I did, I just changed all listings of OL to OT (because I was lazy), but in another I looked up the few players that were different.  This could result in some error.

 

In case anyone wants to toy around with anything I’ve worked on, I have all of my spreadsheets uploaded here:

http://sharebee.com/7880bf69

 

WARNING: Wall of text and data ahead.  I thought about breaking this up into multiple parts, but decided against it.

Other warning, some of the charts at the end are a bit on the large side and may leak over into the sidebar.

 

 

 Ranking the top 50 colleges by their number of players in the NFL.

Rank

COLLEGE

Total

1

Texas

42

2

Louisiana State

41

3

Miami (Fla.)

40

4

USC

39

 

Georgia

39

6

Ohio State

37

7

Tennessee

36

8

Nebraska

34

9

Michigan

33

10

Florida State

32

 

Florida

32

12

Notre Dame

30

 

California

30

14

Oklahoma

29

 

Auburn

29

16

Iowa

28

17

Penn State

27

18

Purdue

26

 

Louisville

26

20

Virginia Tech

25

 

Virginia

25

 

North Carolina

25

23

Oregon

24

 

Michigan State

24

 

Maryland

24

 

Boston College

24

 

Alabama

24

28

Texas A&M

22

 

Oregon State

22

 

Georgia Tech

22

31

Wisconsin

21

 

Pittsburgh

21

 

Illinois

21

34

South Carolina

20

 

Rutgers

20

 

North Carolina State

20

 

Mississippi State

20

 

Mississippi

20

39

UCLA

18

 

Kansas State

18

 

Colorado

18

 

Arizona

18

43

San Diego State

17

 

Fresno State

17

 

Clemson

17

 

Arkansas

17

 

Arizona State

17

48

Washington State

16

 

Utah

16

50

Wake Forest

15

 

Central Florida

15

 

Brigham Young

15

 

Top Schools by Position:

(# from – school from)

Centers: 4 – California, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Texas A&M

Cornerbacks: 7 – Ohio State, 6 – Auburn, South Carolina, 5 – Michigan, Pittsburgh, Texas

Defensive Ends: 8 – Georgia, 7 – Florida, 5 – North Carolina

Defensive Tackles: 6 – Texas, Texas A&M, 5 – Florida State, Miami (Fla.), Michigan State, Tennessee

Fullbacks: 2 – Alabama, West Virginia

Guards: 5 – LSU, 4 – Iowa, Nebraska

Linebackers: 8 – Miami (Fla.), Ohio State, USC, 7 – Michigan, Nebraska, Purdue

Offensive Tackles: 5 – Boston College, Florida State, 4 – Michigan, Notre Dame, Texas, Virginia

Punters: 2 – Ball State, Notre Dame, Tennessee

Place Kickers: 2 – Florida State, Louisiana Tech, Nebraska, North Carolina, Texas, Washington State

Quarterbacks: 4 – USC, 3 – Boston College, Fresno State, Louisville, Michigan, Oregon, Purdue

Running Backs: 4 – Georgia, Texas, USC, Virginia

Safeties: 5 – LSU, 4 – Clemson, Georgia Tech, Miami (Fla.), Oklahoma, Virginia Tech, Washington State

Tight Ends: 5 – Virginia, 3 – Arizona State, California, Colorado, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Iowa, Maryland, Miami (Fla.), Notre Dame, Penn State, Texas

Wide Receivers: 8 – Ohio State, 6 – LSU, Miami (Fla.), Virginia Tech, 5 – North Carolina, Oklahoma

 

 

The Eagles have 5 players from Georgia, and the Chiefs have 5 players from LSU.  No other NFL team has as many players from a single school.

 

The average NFL team has (listed on their ESPN roster):

Centers: 3.063, Giants and Jets only have one each, Bills have six

Cornerbacks: 6.875, Vikings, Cowboys, Dolphins, and Raiders have only five, Packers have ten

Defensive Ends: 5.344, Ravens only have one, Raiders and Rams have eight

Defensive Tackles: 4.969, Cowboys only have one, Panthers and Ravens have eight

Fullbacks: 1.313, a number of teams have zero, a few have three

Guards: 3.188, Titans, Raiders, and Falcons only have one, Chiefs have six

Linebackers: 8.281, Broncos only have five, Chargers and Patriots have eleven

Offensive Tackles: 4.906, Chiefs only have two, a bunch of teams have seven

Punters: 1.188, Most teams only have one, Buccaneers have three

Place Kickers: 1.188, most teams have one, a few have two

Quarterbacks: 3.25, Jaguars and Packers only have two, Panthers have five

Running Backs: 4.438, it’s pretty evenly spread from three to six

Safeties: 4.563, Chargers and Panthers only have two, Falcons and Texans have seven

Tight Ends: 3.938, Jaguars and Patriots only have two, Bengals and Colts have seven

Wide Receivers: 6.406, a few teams have only five, Buccaneers have nine

 

 

Ranking the FBS conferences by the average number of players that end up in the NFL per team*

 

Conference

AVG # Players/Team

Total # of Players

SEC

24.75

297

Big Ten

22.72727273

250

ACC

22.66666667

272

PAC-10

21

210

Big 12

18.33333333

220

Big East

15

120

MWC

10.625

85

WAC

7.777777778

70

C-USA

6.583333333

79

MAC

5.230769231

68

Sun-Belt

3.444444444

31

 

 

*Note that I did not factor in the service academies, as there is only one player from the any of them playing in the NFL (Kyle Eckel, from Navy).  I assume that is due to the 5 year requirement of being in their corresponding service after graduating.  As such, I also did not include the Independents in the chart, as it would have just been Notre Dame.

 

Ranking the different conferences by position

 

Center:

Conference

AVG/Team

Total #

Big Ten

1.090909091

12

ACC

1.083333333

13

Big 12

1

12

PAC-10

1

10

SEC

0.916666667

11

C-USA

0.75

9

WAC

0.555555556

5

MAC

0.384615385

5

MWC

0.375

3

Big East

0.25

2

Sun-Belt

0

0

 

Cornerback:

Conference

AVG/Team

Total #

SEC

2.75

33

Big East

2.625

21

Big Ten

2.090909091

23

Big 12

2

24

ACC

1.916666667

23

PAC-10

1.7

17

WAC

1.333333333

12

MWC

0.875

7

Sun-Belt

0.777777778

7

C-USA

0.5

6

MAC

0.461538462

6

 

Defensive End:

Conference

AVG/Team

Total #

SEC

2.75

33

Big Ten

1.818181818

20

Big 12

1.75

21

ACC

1.75

21

PAC-10

1.6

16

Big East

1.25

10

MWC

0.75

6

WAC

0.555555556

5

MAC

0.307692308

4

Sun-Belt

0.111111111

1

C-USA

0

0

 

Defensive Tackle:

Conference

AVG/Team

Total #

SEC

2.583333333

31

Big 12

2.25

27

Big Ten

2.181818182

24

ACC

2.166666667

26

PAC-10

1.5

15

Big East

0.75

6

MWC

0.5

4

MAC

0.461538462

6

Sun-Belt

0.333333333

3

C-USA

0.25

3

WAC

0.111111111

1

 

Fullback:

Conference

AVG/Team

Total #

Big East

0.75

6

SEC

0.5

6

PAC-10

0.4

4

ACC

0.333333333

4

Big 12

0.25

3

Sun-Belt

0.222222222

2

Big Ten

0.181818182

2

MWC

0.125

1

WAC

0.111111111

1

C-USA

0.083333333

1

MAC

0.076923077

1

 

Guard:

Conference

AVG/Team

Total #

SEC

1.666666667

20

Big Ten

1.363636364

15

Big 12

1.166666667

14

PAC-10

1

10

Big East

0.875

7

ACC

0.666666667

8

WAC

0.666666667

6

MWC

0.5

4

C-USA

0.25

3

MAC

0.153846154

2

Sun-Belt

0.111111111

1

 

Linebacker:

Conference

AVG/Team

Total #

ACC

3.916666667

47

Big Ten

3.545454545

39

SEC

3.25

39

PAC-10

2.6

26

Big 12

2.166666667

26

Big East

2.125

17

MWC

2.125

17

C-USA

0.75

9

WAC

0.444444444

4

Sun-Belt

0.444444444

4

MAC

0.384615385

5

 

Offensive Tackle:

Conference

AVG/Team

Total #

ACC

2.166666667

26

Big Ten

1.818181818

20

SEC

1.75

21

Big 12

1.416666667

17

MWC

1.375

11

PAC-10

1.1

11

Big East

0.875

7

WAC

0.666666667

6

MAC

0.615384615

8

C-USA

0.583333333

7

Sun-Belt

0.111111111

1

 

Punter:

Conference

AVG/Team

Total #

PAC-10

0.4

4

Big East

0.375

3

Big Ten

0.363636364

4

Big 12

0.333333333

4

MAC

0.307692308

4

SEC

0.25

3

ACC

0.166666667

2

C-USA

0.166666667

2

WAC

0.111111111

1

MWC

0

0

Sun-Belt

0

0

 

Place Kicker:

Conference

AVG/Team

Total #

Big 12

0.583333333

7

ACC

0.5

6

Big Ten

0.454545455

5

PAC-10

0.4

4

WAC

0.333333333

3

Big East

0.25

2

SEC

0.166666667

2

C-USA

0.166666667

2

Sun-Belt

0.111111111

1

MAC

0.076923077

1

MWC

0

0

 

Quarterback:

Conference

AVG/Team

Total #

PAC-10

1.5

15

Big Ten

1.181818182

13

Big East

1

8

SEC

0.916666667

11

C-USA

0.75

9

ACC

0.666666667

8

MWC

0.625

5

Big 12

0.583333333

7

WAC

0.555555556

5

MAC

0.384615385

5

Sun-Belt

0.111111111

1

 

Running Back:

Conference

AVG/Team

Total #

Big Ten

1.818181818

20

SEC

1.75

21

PAC-10

1.7

17

Big 12

1.25

15

ACC

1.166666667

14

Big East

1

8

MWC

0.875

7

C-USA

0.583333333

7

MAC

0.307692308

4

WAC

0.222222222

2

Sun-Belt

0.111111111

1

 

Safety:

Conference

AVG/Team

Total #

PAC-10

2.1

21

SEC

2

24

ACC

1.916666667

23

Big Ten

1.363636364

15

Big 12

1

12

Big East

0.75

6

MWC

0.75

6

WAC

0.555555556

5

Sun-Belt

0.555555556

5

C-USA

0.333333333

4

MAC

0.307692308

4

 

Tight End:

Conference

AVG/Team

Total #

ACC

1.833333333

22

PAC-10

1.6

16

Big Ten

1.181818182

13

Big 12

1.166666667

14

SEC

1.083333333

13

Big East

0.875

7

WAC

0.555555556

5

MWC

0.5

4

C-USA

0.5

6

MAC

0.461538462

6

Sun-Belt

0.111111111

1

 

Wide Receiver:

Conference

AVG/Team

Total #

ACC

2.416666667

29

SEC

2.416666667

29

PAC-10

2.3

23

Big Ten

2.272727273

25

Big 12

1.416666667

17

MWC

1.25

10

Big East

1.125

9

WAC

1

9

C-USA

0.916666667

11

MAC

0.538461538

7

Sun-Belt

0.333333333

3

 


Some more data related to individual conferences:

ACC:

Duke has the least players in the NFL of any ACC team, with only three.

The Falcons, Giants, and Texans have more players from the ACC than any other team, with 14 each.  The Packers have the fewest ACC players, with only three.

Big 12:

Kansas has the least players in the NFL of any Big 12 team, with only six.

The Buccaneers have more players from the Big 12 than any other team, with 12.  The Dolphins, Giants, and Raiders have the fewest Big 12 players, with only two each.

Big East:

South Florida has the least players in the NFL of any Big East team, with only six.

The Colts, Eagles, Jaguars, and Panthers have more players from the Big East than any other team, with 7 each.  The Bears, Browns, Chiefs, Redskins, and Vikings each only have one Big East player.
Big Ten:

Indiana has the least players in the NFL of any Big Ten team, with nine.

The Jets have more players from the Big Ten than any other team, with 13.  The Eagles have the fewest Big Ten players, with only one.

C-USA:

Southern Methodist and UAB are tied for the least players in the NFL of any C-USA team, with only two each.

The Raiders have more players from C-USA than any other team, with six.  The Cowboys, Redskins, and Seahawks all have no players from C-USA.

MAC:

Buffalo has the least players in the NFL of any MAC team, with only two.

The Lions have more players from the MAC than any other team, with five.  The Cardinals, Jets, Redskins, and Seahawks all have no MAC players.

MWC:

Ignoring the Air Force’s zero, UNLV has the least players in the MWC with three.

The Texans have more players from the MWC than any other team, with eight.  The Broncos, Chiefs, Falcons, Patriots, and Titans all have zero MWC players.

PAC-10:

Stanford and Washington have the least players in the NFL of any PAC-10 team, with 13.

The Seahawks have more players from the PAC-10 than any other team, with 14.  The Broncos and Dolphins have the fewest PAC-10 players, with only three each.

SEC:

Kentucky has the least players in the NFL of any SEC team, with only seven.

The Chiefs have more players from the SEC than any other team, with 16.  The Giants have the fewest SEC players, with five.

Sun-Belt:

FAU has zero players in the NFL.

The Falcons, Giants, and Panthers have more players from the Sun-Belt than any other team, with three each.  Thirteen NFL teams have zero Sun-Belt players.

WAC:

New Mexico State has the least players in the NFL of any WAC team, with only two.

The Redskins, Packers, and Jaguars have more players from the WAC than any other team, with five each.  The Bengals, Chiefs, Lions, Steelers, and Texans all have no WAC players.


I also compiled a list of the all of the players in the NFL from Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, and Ohio State:

 

Michigan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

33

Team

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

15

Offense

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3

QB

Tom Brady

Chad Henne

Todd Collins

 

 

 

 

1

RB

Mike Hart

 

 

 

 

 

 

0

FB

----

 

 

 

 

 

 

4

WR

Braylon Edwards

Steve Breaston

Jason Avant

Mario Manningham

 

 

0

TE

----

 

 

 

 

 

 

4

OT

Jake Long

Jeff Backus

Jon Runyan

Jon Jansen

 

 

3

G

Steve Hutchinson

David Baas

Jonathan Goodwin

 

 

 

0

C

----

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

17

Defense

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2

DT

Alan Branch

Gabe Watson

 

 

 

 

 

2

DE

James Hall

Tim Jamison

 

 

 

 

 

7

LB

David Harris

Dhani Jones

Prescott Burgess

Shawn Crable

Larry Foote

LaMarr Woodley

Pierre Woods

5

CB

Charles Woodson

Ty Law

Marlin Jackson

Leon Hall

Morgan Trent

 

1

S

Jamar Adams

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1

Special Teams

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1

PK

Jay Feely

 

 

 

 

 

 

0

P

----

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

Michigan State

 

 

 

 

 

24

Team

 

 

 

 

 

12

Offense

 

 

 

 

 

2

QB

Drew Stanton

Brian Hoyer

 

 

1

RB

Javon Ringer

 

 

 

0

FB

----

 

 

 

 

3

WR

Devin Thomas

Derrick Mason

Muhsin Muhammad

 

2

TE

Kellen Davis

Chris Baker

 

 

2

OT

Flozell Adams

Peter Clifford

 

 

0

G

----

 

 

 

 

2

C

Kyle Cook

Chris Morris

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

11

Defense

 

 

 

 

 

5

DT

Ogemdi Nwagbuo

Clifton Ryan

Brandon McKinney

Domata Peko

Kevin Vickerson

2

DE

Ervin Baldwin

Robaire Smith

 

 

2

LB

David Herron

Julian Peterson

 

 

0

CB

----

 

 

 

 

2

S

Eric Smith

Renaldo Hill

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1

Special Teams

 

 

 

 

 

0

PK

----

 

 

 

 

1

P

Brandon Fields

 

 

 

 


 

 

Notre Dame

 

 

 

 

30

Team

 

 

 

 

16

Offense

 

 

 

 

1

QB

Brady Quinn

 

 

2

RB

Ryan Grant

Julius Jones

 

0

FB

----

 

 

 

2

WR

Maurice Stovall

Arnaz Battle

 

3

TE

John Carlson

Anthony Fasano

John Owens

4

OT

Mark LeVoir

Ryan Harris

Jordan Black

Mike Gandy

0

G

----

 

 

 

4

C

John Sullivan

J.J. Jansen

Dan Santucci

Jeff Faine

 

 

 

 

 

 

12

Defense

 

 

 

 

2

DT

Trevor Laws

Derek Landri

 

4

DE

Victor Abiamiri

Justin Tuck

Bertrand Berry

Renaldo Wynn

2

LB

Corey Mays

Rocky Boiman

 

1

CB

Mike Richardson

 

 

3

S

Tom Zbikowski

Chinedum Ndukwe

David Bruton

 

 

 

 

 

 

2

Special Teams

 

 

 

 

0

PK

----

 

 

 

2

P

Hunter Smith

Craig Hentrich

 

 


 

 

Ohio State

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

37

Team

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

15

Offense

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1

QB

Troy Smith

 

 

 

 

 

 

1

RB

Beanie Wells

 

 

 

 

 

 

0

FB

----

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8

WR

Ted Ginn Jr.

Anthony Gonzalez

Roy Hall

Santonio Holmes

Michael Jenkins

Joey Galloway

Brian Hartline

Brian Robiskie

1

TE

Ben Hartsock

 

 

 

 

 

 

1

OT

Orlando Pace

 

 

 

 

 

 

1

G

Rob Sims

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2

C

Nick Mangold

Kevin Houser

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

22

Defense

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1

DT

Ryan Pickett

 

 

 

 

 

 

3

DE

Jay Richardson

Will Smith

Kenny Peterson

 

 

 

 

8

LB

Larry Grant

Vernon Gholston

Bobby Carpenter

A.J. Hawk

Matt Wilhelm

Na'il Diggs

Mike Vrabel

James Laurinaitis

7

CB

Ashton Youboty

Chris Gamble

Nate Clements

Antoine Winfield

Shawn Springs

Donald Washington

Malcolm Jenkins

3

S

Donte Whitner

Will Allen

Donnie Nickey

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

0

Special Teams

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

0

PK

----

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

0

P

----

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So there you have it.  A whole mess of data about things you may or may not have been curious about.  And to think that I originally only wanted to compile the list of Michigan players in the NFL...

Comments

yostlovesme

January 19th, 2010 at 8:02 PM ^

After reading this post I am now more than ever mistified as to why Penn State is called Linebacker U. I always said that Miami is more deserving than PSU, and this post backs up that claim. I mean Purdue is listed above them so I am at a loss to where they got that knickname. If it was when Joe Pa started coaching there and it just stuck I guess I can understand that, but I honestly have no idea.

SysMark

January 19th, 2010 at 10:53 PM ^

The Penn State designation as "Linebacker U" is probably at least 30 years old and has little correlation to what you see in the NFL today.

In fairness, in the day they did produce an impressive stream of NFL linebackers.

yostlovesme

January 19th, 2010 at 11:26 PM ^

That is what I had figured it to be. I can only think of a few since the 90s that had come out of PSU and been successful so I continually questioned the name. I actually work with a guy who played linebacker at PSU in the 70's and went to 4 big bowl games, which was a remarkable in that time. Played in the pros for a couple years and he now works with a kid half his age.

Bleedin9Blue

January 19th, 2010 at 8:38 PM ^

Well done, that was an interesting read. I think that the B10 acquitted itself quite well.

In regards to this quote:

South Florida has the least players in the NFL of any Big East team, with only six.

I'm sure that that number is partially affected by not only being such a young program but being a young program that only recently joined a BCS conference. I'm sure that this number will increase and USF will average more than some of the lower level Big East teams.

Still, very interesting, I wouldn't be surprised if Brian linked to this from the front page just because it's an interesting comparison.

TIMMMAAY

January 19th, 2010 at 8:49 PM ^

Holy crap you must have been bored.

Good stuff though.
One minor issue; how can the ACC have more total players in the NFL, but the B10 has a higher #of players per team? Is there some variable I'm just missing?

Tshimanga Cowabunga

January 19th, 2010 at 8:56 PM ^

I don't know what your parameters are for players in the NFL but Maurice Williams played this year in the NFL for the Jaguars but was cut recently and Terrence Taylor is on the Lions practice squad. Cato June also played this year in the NFL though not much. Carson Butler was also on a number of practice squads tho didn't see time on an NFL field this year.

Good work though. Interesting information

blueheron

January 19th, 2010 at 9:08 PM ^

There was a time when Michigan's NFL roster would've been weighted more toward offense (maybe even 2:1) with no representation on the D-line. Bo years, mostly...

I couldn't help noticing that, Mike Hart and Jake Long excepted, there haven't been many NFL-caliber players recently from UM at positions of traditional strength (RBs, O-linemen).