There are 1,696 players in the NFL and per capita Louisiana ranks No. 1 when it comes down to supplying players into the league.
Louisiana, which ranks 25th in total population, has the sixth-most high school players in the NFL. The Pelican State has the highest per capita rate of NFL players (1 in 65,720).
California leads all states with 211 players in the league and Texas is second with 181.
The state of Florida is third with 177 players, Ohio is fourth with 85 NFL players and the state of Georgia is fifth with 80.
Louisiana has 69 players currently in the NFL.
Even more impressive is that St. Charles Parish has six of those players in the NFL from a population of 51,000: LaRon Landry, Dawan Landry and Darius Reynaud from Hahnville High School and Ed Reed, Mike Scifres and Darryl Richard from Destrehan High School.
Former Dallas Cowboys director of player personnel chief and current NFL analyst Gil Brandt says he is not surprised with the amount of players going into the league from Louisiana.
“When I first broke into the scouting business in 1960 there was always a great deal of talent from Louisiana coming into the league and it hasn’t changed,” he said. “From guys like Terry Bradshaw, Jimmy Taylor, Jackie Smith, Marshall Faulk, Charlie Joiner and Willis Davis to the modern guys like Peyton and Eli Manning, Ed Reed, Alan Faneca and Bradie James, Louisiana produces tremendous players because of their dedication to the sport.
“They have great athletes and outstanding coaching at the high school level. I can see why the state is saturated with college coaches looking to lure those players to their respective schools.”
Getting Back into the Football Groove…
For New Orleans Saints fans what happened Sunday was what all have been waiting to see since the start of the 2010 season.
The Saints offense jumped all over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31-6 in an impressive all-around game for the boys in black and gold.
The most impressive part of the Saints victory was the way their offensive line took over the contest. The Saints big and physical offensive front hammered away at the Bucs front-seven and they amassed 212 rushing yards on 32 attempts.
Rookie Chris Ivory, from tiny Tiffin College in Ohio, accounted for 158 yards on 15 carries for an average of 10.5 yards per carry.
“I felt good out there and the line did a great job opening up some big holes for me,” Ivory said. “I know I have a lot to prove to people and I am still learning all the details about playing halfback in the NFL, but I feel as though I earned my shot. I am confident the coaching staff and players trust in me.”
Ivory’s 158 rushing yards is the most by a Saints player since Deuce McAllister rushed for 165 yards in Week 13 of the 2003 season.
The Saints (4-2) held the Buccaneers to just 42 rushing yards on 18 carries and Tampa could just account for 277 yards of total offense.
Quarterback Drew Brees, who threw for 263 passing yards and three touchdowns, says there is still work to be accomplished.
“We worked hard last week on cleaning up some of the mistakes we made over the past couple of weeks,” he said. “We were able to connect on a couple of deep passes that turned into touchdowns, but the story was just how well our offensive line played. They did a super job against a very athletic and aggressive front for the Bucs.”
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