Colleges That Produce the Most NFL Players
Alabama has been sending players to the NFL for a long time. Here, coach Paul "Bear" Bryant gives instructions to quarterback Ken Stabler during the 1968 Cotton Bowl against Texas A&M.
Some colleges excel at producing Fortune 500 CEOs. Others create politicians. And some make NFL players.
It's no surprise the schools that dominate on Saturdays see their alumni playing on Sundays.
These colleges have produced the most NFL players with a track record of success on the gridiron.
Note: All figures are NFL stats for players. They are from Pro Football Reference and through the 2018 NFL season. AV refers to approximate value and is PFR’s attempt to quantify a player’s career value. The higher the AV, the greater the career he had.
25[t). Arizona State — 287 Players
Arizona State linebacker Pat Tillman, left, played four seasons in the NFL before retiring to become an Army Ranger.
NFL Hall of Famers: 5
NFL Pro Bowl selections: 98
Highest AV in NFL: Randall McDaniel (119)
Most touchdowns in NFL: Charley Taylor (90)
Most games played in NFL: Terrell Suggs (229)
Bottom line: Lots of schools have proclaimed themselves as "DB U" due to the prolific number of defensive backs they have sent to the NFL. But one school often overlooked in this conversation is Arizona State.
More than 25 percent of its 98 Pro Bowl selections came from just four defensive backs: Mike Haynes (9), Eric Allen (6), Louis Wright (5) and Darren Woodson (5).
Despite all of that success in the defensive backfield, the Sun Devils never have won a national championship, making them just one of four teams on this list without a natty.
25(t). Iowa — 287 Players
Iowa tight end Dallas Clark, center, was a first-round pick (24th overall) of the Indianapolis Colts in the 2003 NFL draft.
Hall of Famers: 3
Pro Bowl selections: 86
Highest AV: Paul Krause (113)
Most touchdowns: Dallas Clark (53)
Most games played: Reggie Roby (238)
Bottom line: Another one of the schools here without a national title, the Hawkeyes are a perfect nickname for Iowa because their best two players seemingly had hawk eyes.
Iowa not only has the NFL’s all-time interceptions leader in Paul Krause (81), but it also has the second all-time interceptions leader in Emlen Tunnell (79). Unfortunately, the two never shared a backfield while at Iowa, or maybe that’s fortunate for opposing quarterbacks.
Iowa’s defense-heavy mindset seemed to carry on to all of its NFL players as they come up on the short end of touchdowns scored in the NFL. Despite having the exact same number of pro players as Arizona State, Iowa alums have scored 388 fewer touchdowns, which places them last on this top 25 list.
23. Illinois — 289 Players
Dick Butkus was two-time All-American linebacker at Illinois.
Hall of Famers: 5
Pro Bowl selections: 60
Highest AV: Ray Nitschke (94)
Most touchdowns: Bobby Mitchell (91)
Most games played: Doug Dieken (203)
Bottom line: Let’s make it three schools in a row without a national championship, although Illinois had two of the most iconic players in NFL history.
They grew up just 10 minutes from each other in Chicago and are universally known by their surnames: Butkus and Nitschke. They both were middle linebackers and played for rival franchises in the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers, respectively.
Dick Butkus and Ray Nitschke dominated in the 1960s and '70s, and the Fighting Illini’s success also is in yesteryear. They have won just two conference titles in the last 35 years, and of their 28 Pro Bowl players, only one was drafted in the last 15 years (Vontae Davis, 2009).
22. Auburn — 298 Players
Auburn running back Bo Jackson won the 1985 Heisman Trophy and was the one of the most dominant players in college football history.
Hall of Famers: 2
Pro Bowl selections: 69
Highest AV: Cam Newton (103)
Most touchdowns: James Brooks (79)
Most games played: Al Del Greco (248)
Bottom line: The Auburn Tigers are currently considered an SEC powerhouse, but this hasn’t always been the case. They don’t have decades of winning traditions, which is why they fall much lower on this list than many expect. Yet despite ranking 22nd in all-time NFL players, Auburn ranks eighth in active players, pointing to its recent success.
With names like Bo Jackson, Ronnie Brown, and Stephen Davis, the Tigers have been a football factory at producing NFL running backs. In fact, 12 of their 34 Pro Bowl players played either running back or fullback. That list doesn’t even include Cam Newton, who is the NFL’s all-time leader in rushing touchdowns for a quarterback.
21. Washington — 305 Players
Quarterback Warren Moon played three seasons at Washington and led the Huskies to a win over Michigan in the 1978 Rose bowl.
Hall of Famers: 3
Pro Bowl selections: 69
Highest AV: Warren Moon (119)
Most touchdowns: Corey Dillon (89)
Most games played: Blair Bush (246)
Bottom line: Did you know that the Washington Huskies’ 40 game win streak from 1908 to 1914 is the second-longest in NCAA history? Did you also know that the streak started a dozen years before the NFL was founded so none of the players on those teams made it to the league?
Despite that, Washington has attracted many of the top players in the nation and its reach goes beyond its Seattle campus. Hall of Famers Warren Moon and Hugh McElhenny came from Los Angeles, six-time Pro Bowl center Olin Kreutz came from Hawaii, and Marcus Peters was from Oakland.
The only thing missing from Washington’s NFL alumni is a successful wide receiver. The school has produced Pro Bowlers at every other position on the field, but they’ve yet to send a receiver to the Pro Bowl or have a receiver post a 1,000-yard season.
20. Florida State — 313 Players
Anquan Boldin, left, played wide receiver for four NFL teams over 14 seasons.
Hall of Famers: 4
Pro Bowl selections: 91
Highest AV: Derrick Brooks (141)
Most touchdowns: Anquan Boldin (83)
Most games played: Sebastian Janikowski (284)
Bottom line: Florida is the only state to place three schools in the top 25, and despite FSU having the most recent success of the three programs, the Seminoles rank last in the Battle for Florida. But Florida State is rising up the ranks, and of its four Hall of Famers, three have been enshrined in Canton this decade.
The Bobby Bowden-Jimbo Fisher era was the best run in program history, and that is evident by FSU having 46 active players in the NFL, which ranks sixth-most despite its total number of players ranking 20th.
19. Texas A&M — 317 Players
Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel won the 2012 Heisman Trophy.
Hall of Famers: 1
Pro Bowl selections: 101
Highest AV: Richmond Webb (99)
Most touchdowns: John David Crow (74)
Most games played: Shane Lechler (286)
Bottom line: No list about football would be complete without the state of Texas, and the Longhorn State lands its first of two proficient programs.
While everything may be bigger in Texas, the Aggies come up small in terms of Pro Football Hall of Famers. Yale Lary is the only Hall of Famer in school history, and that one HOF selection is the fewest of any school on this list.
The school actually has more Heisman winners (2) than Pro Football Hall of Famers (1), though Von Miller or even Shane Lechler may one day even things up.
18. Michigan State — 321 Players
Plaxico Burress was a two-time All-Big Ten wide receiver at Michigan State and then played 11 seasons in the NFL.
Hall of Famers: 3
Pro Bowl selections: 110
Highest AV: Herb Adderley (106)
Most touchdowns: Andre Rison (84)
Most games played: Morten Anderson (382)
Bottom line: Most people think of Michigan State as a basketball school, but the Spartans are one of the best football programs in the nation in producing elite receivers. Only 44 wide receivers in NFL history have reached 10,000 receiving yards, and three of them came from MSU — Andre Rison, Muhsin Muhammad and Derrick Mason.
However, players of that caliber have been few and far between in recent years as the majority of Michigan State’s NFL alums played in the early days of the NFL. In the 1950s, 69 Spartans were drafted into the NFL, compared to just 59 from 2000 to 2019.
17. Pittsburgh — 328 Players
Pittsburgh quarterback Dan Marino had a Hall of Fame career with the Miami Dolphins.
Hall of Famers: 9
Pro Bowl selections: 122
Highest AV: Dan Marino (145)
Most touchdowns: Larry Fitzgerald (116)
Most games played: Dan Marino (242)
Bottom line: Pittsburgh has just four Top 25 finishes in the last 35 years, hasn’t won a bowl game in five years and hasn’t won more than 10 games since 1981.
Yet the Panthers also have the third-most Pro Football Hall of Famers of any football program, pointing to the pull of Pittsburgh for top talent in Western Pennsylvania.
Their list of nine Hall of Famers is sure to grow in the near future as Larry Fitzgerald, Darrelle Revis and Aaron Donald likely will receive their gold jackets one day.
16. Texas — 331 Players
Texas running back Jamaal Charles was a third-round pick (73rd overall) of the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2008 NFL draft.
Hall of Famers: 3
Pro Bowl selections: 114
Highest AV: Steve McMichael (99)
Most touchdowns: Priest Holmes (94)
Most games played: Phil Dawson (305)
Bottom line: UT is home to three Hall of Famers, although one of them, Tom Landry, is enshrined in Canton due to his work as a coach rather than a player. The school’s other Hall of Famers are quarterback Bobby Layne and running back Earl Campbell.
Texas used to be the dominant team in the state, but the rise of other programs like Texas A&M and TCU in recent years has taken some wind out of its sails.
The Longhorns are still on top, for now, but they are chasing Oklahoma for Big 12 supremacy in terms of NFL players produced.
15. Wisconsin — 334 Players
Quarterback Russell Wilson played his final college season at Wisconsin after three years at North Carolina State.
Hall of Famers: 4
Pro Bowl selections: 79
Highest AV: Mike Webster (116)
Most touchdowns: Elroy Hirsch (66)
Most games played: Mike Webster (245)
Bottom line: Wisconsin has the most NFL players of any school to never win a national championship — their highest season-ending finish was No. 2 following the 1962 season.
Madison, Wisconsin, may not be the first location that many transfers think of when deciding where they want to finish their college careers, but it has proven to be a much-sought-after destination for some of the NFL’s best players.
Both J.J. Watt and Russell Wilson started their college careers elsewhere, then ended their playing days suiting up for the red and white of the Wisconsin Badgers.
14. Georgia — 336 Players
Hines Ward was an All-SEC receiver at Georgia before catching 1,000 passes in the NFL and winning two Super Bowls with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Hall of Famers: 4
Pro Bowl selections: 118
Highest AV: Fran Tarkenton (149)
Most touchdowns: Hines Ward (86)
Most games played: John Kasay (301)
Bottom line: 1980 was a landmark year for the Georgia Bulldogs football program as they claimed their only national championship while riding the legs of Herschel Walker.
1980 also stands as the midpoint for Georgia football and the NFL draft as 50 percent of all drafted Bulldogs were selected before 1980 while the other half came in 1980 or later.
With all due respect to Fran Tarkenton and others drafted before 1980, the best players in Georgia history have come in the last 40 years. Champ Bailey, Hines Ward, Terrell Davis, Todd Gurley, Geno Atkins and more helped re-establish the Bulldogs as an SEC powerhouse and also left indelible marks in the NFL.
13. UCLA — 338 Players
UCLA quarterback Troy Aikman was the No. 1 overall pick in the 1989 NFL draft.
Hall of Famers: 6
Pro Bowl selections: 99
Highest AV: Jimmy Johnson (100)
Most touchdowns: Maurice Jones-Drew (81)
Most games played: Norm Johnson (203)
Bottom line: You’ll notice a trend with nearly all of the schools on this list — most reside in small college towns and outside of major cities. Only two of the 10 most populous cities in the United States have schools on this list with Phoenix’s Arizona State and Los Angeles’ first entry with UCLA.
The Bruins are considered a basketball school while nearby USC is considered the city’s football school, but UCLA gets more than just the Trojans’ leftovers. Troy Aikman, Jonathan Ogden and Jimmy Johnson all have rejected USC for Westwood and currently reside in the Hall of Fame.
The only thing UCLA is missing is an elite NFL receiver since they’ve had Pro Bowlers at every position except out wide. That stat does deserve a caveat as Matthew Slater and Wally Henry were both Bruins receivers who made the Pro Bowl, but they did so at the positions of special teams and return specialist, respectively.
12. Tennessee — 340 Players
The New Orleans Saints drafted Tennesse running back Alvin Kamara in the third round of the 2017 NFL draft.
Hall of Famers: 2
Pro Bowl selections: 138
Highest AV: Peyton Manning (177)
Most touchdowns: Stanley Morgan (73)
Most games played: Peyton Manning (266)
Bottom line: Tennessee makes up for its lack of quantity (12th in all-time players and 17th in active players) with quality (fifth in Pro Bowl selections).
The Volunteers can thank three players for boosting up their number of Pro Bowl selections: Peyton Manning (14), Reggie White (13) and Jason Witten (11) account for nearly 30 percent of those nods.
In the college game, Tennessee has fallen off over the last 20 years, recordingjust one top-10 finish over that span. But Knoxville, with its close location to the Gulf Coast, the Eastern Seaboard and the Midwest, is still adept at attracting top college prospects.
11. Florida — 351 Players
Emmitt Smith was an All-American running back at Florida before his Hall of Fame NFL career.
Hall of Famers: 2
Pro Bowl selections: 83
Highest AV: Emmitt Smith (129)
Most touchdowns: Emmitt Smith (175)
Most games played: Lomas Brown (263)
Bottom line: Flordia had recent success under Steve Spurrier and Urban Meyer, but doesn’t have decades of dominance under its belt and didn’t become an elite program until the 1990s.
All 11 of the school's conference championships have come under Spurrier and Meyer, who made Gainesville a pipeline to the NFL unlike previous coaches. That is reflected by the Gators having the third-most active players in the NFL despite being outside the top 10 in total players.
Even though Florida has had over 350 former Gators suit up in the NFL, none of those players were ever drafted first overall out of UF. Cam Newton attended Florida for two years, then transferred to Auburn, so when he was taken first overall in the 2011 NFL draft, Auburn got the credit for the selection.
10. LSU — 366 Players
Patrick Peterson was a two-time All-American defensive back at LSU before being a first-round pick (fifth overall) of the Arizona Cardinals in the 2011 NFL draft.
Hall of Famers: 5
Pro Bowl selections: 122
Highest AV: Alan Faneca (113)
Most touchdowns: Jim Taylor (93)
Most games played: Kevin Mawae (241)
Bottom line: Louisiana has the most NFL players per capita of any state, and LSU leverages that fact as the only Power 5 program in the state. This is another program that has experienced its most success in recent years, and only rival Alabama has more active NFL players.
LSU’s alums rank fifth all-time in touchdowns scored, with most of their best players lining up on the offensive side of the ball. Of the 16 Tigers to make at least one All-Pro first team, 11 were offensive players including Hall of Famers Y.A. Tittle, Steve Van Buren and Kevin Mawae.
9. Miami (Florida) — 367 Players
Frank Gore rushed for 1,975 yards in three years as a running back at Miami.
Hall of Famers: 8
Pro Bowl selections: 179
Highest AV: Ray Lewis (158)
Most touchdowns: Frank Gore (96)
Most games played: Jeff Feagles (352)
Bottom line: The U may not have the same prestige it had at the turn of the century, but there is no denying Miami’s presence in the NFL.
The city of Miami has more NFL players than any other city, and these players just aren’t your run-of-the-mill second and third-stringers. Miami Hurricane alums rank second in NFL touchdowns scored and third in Pro Bowl selections, despite having 60-70 percent of the number of players that the top two schools have produced.
Additionally, Miami wins the all-important Battle for Florida since it has more five more Pro Bowl selections (179) than Florida State (91) and Florida (83) combined.
8. Alabama — 368 Players
Ken Stabler was an All-American quarterback at Alabama.
Hall of Famers: 8
Pro Bowl selections: 107
Highest AV: John Hannah (111)
Most touchdowns: Shaun Alexander (112)
Most games played: Chris Mohr (239)
Bottom line: The dominance of Alabama under Nick Saban isn’t limited to just the college game. It is reflected in the NFL as well.
No school has more active NFL players than Alabama’s 54, and that doesn’t even include its 10 players taken in the 2019 draft, which was the most of any school. In fact, since Saban became coach in 2007, the Crimson Tide have more first-round picks (29) than losses (21).
The only thing missing from Alabama’s NFL resume is a shutdown cornerback. Despite putting 51 defensive backs in the NFL, including 11 first-rounders, no Bama corner has ever made a Pro Bowl.
7. Nebraska — 369 Players
Nebraska running back Ameer Abdullah was a second-round pick of the Detroit Lions in the 2015 NFL draft.
Hall of Famers: 5
Pro Bowl selections: 89
Highest AV: Will Shields (113)
Most touchdowns: Irving Fryar (88)
Most games played: Irving Fryar (255)
Bottom line: While many of the aforementioned schools have had recent success but not decades of winning, the exact opposite can be said for Nebraska. The Cornhuskers have won more games against Power 5 opponents than any other school in history, and their dominance stretches from the early 20th century all the way to the 1990s.
However, Nebraska hasn’t finished in the top 10 in the final AP poll since the 2001 season, and its once-abundant NFL pipeline has all but dried up. Despite ranking eighth in all-time NFL players, the Huskers rank just 29th in active NFL players.
The school has just one first-round NFL pick since the 2011 season with Prince Amukamara going 19th overall in that year’s draft.
6. Oklahoma — 371 Players
Adrian Peterson, right, ran for 4,041 yards at Oklahoma.
Hall of Famers: 3
Pro Bowl selections: 89
Highest AV: Troy Aikman (97)
Most touchdowns: Adrian Peterson (112)
Most games played: Keith Traylor (229)
Bottom line: No program has more wins or a better win percentage since World War II than Oklahoma — a testament to the great players who have come through Norman.
But great players in Norman haven’t translated to great players in the NFL. The Sooners have only three Hall of Famers. And giving them three is a bit generous since Troy Aikman started his career at OU, but finished it at UCLA.
Even with Aikman, Oklahoma has fewer Hall of Famers than Morgan State, San Francisco and Jackson State, all schools with fewer than 100 NFL players. Fortunately for the Sooners, Adrian Peterson is sure to increase that number five years after he retires.
5. Penn State — 394 Players
Jack Ham (33), left, helped Penn State become known as "Linebacker U."
Hall of Famers: 6
Pro Bowl selections: 118
Highest AV: Jack Ham (114)
Most touchdowns: Lenny Moore (113)
Most games played: Matt Bahr (235)
Bottom line: Smack dab in the middle of Pennsylvania, Penn State isn’t far from Ohio, New York and New Jersey. All four of those states are among the top 10 in producing NFL players, so Penn State is in an ideal location to land top talent.
All six of the Nittany Lions' Pro Football Hall of Famers come from those states, including Franco Harris and Jack Ham, who were Penn State teammates and then teammates with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Despite ranking fifth among all programs in NFL players produced, Penn State doesn’t even lead the Big Ten in that regard, or even rank second. Heck, it doesn’t even finish in the top two in its own division thanks to the two participants of "The Game" beating them out.
4. Michigan — 395 Players
Tom Brady completed 395 of 638 pass attempts in four years at Michigan.
Hall of Famers: 7
Pro Bowl selections: 110
Highest AV: Tom Brady (175)
Most touchdowns: Elroy Hirsch (66)
Most games played: Tom Brady (269)
Bottom line: Michigan has the most all-time wins in college football history, produced perhaps the greatest quarterback in NFL history (Tom Brady) and even had a future president play for them (Gerald Ford).
But Michigan also has struggled when it comes to skill position players in the NFL. Its highest touchdown scorer, Elroy Hirsch, found the end zone just 66 times. While that number seems impressive, it’s the second-lowest number on this list and ranks just 75th in terms of all college football programs.
There have been 138 players in NFL history to rush for 5,000 yards in a career, but none of them have donned the maize and blue. However, 13 Wolverines have reached 1,000 NFL rushing yards with the latest being the greatest, Tom Brady.
3. Ohio State — 479 Players
Ohio State running back Eddie George won the 1995 Heisman Trophy.
Hall of Famers: 8
Pro Bowl selections: 171
Highest AV: Paul Warfield (106)
Most touchdowns: Cris Carter (131)
Most games played: Jim Marshall (282)
Bottom line: Perhaps the most impressive thing about the Buckeyes' NFL credentials is that they rank fourth in active players with 50. That makes them a bit of an outlier since every other school in the top seven is in a warm-weather location in either the South or Southern California.
A winning tradition brings recruits from all over the country, and Ohio State’s all-time winning percentage of .748 ranks first among Power 5 programs. Coach Urban Meyer preparing players for the NFL also was a huge attraction as most of those 50 players have come under his tenure.
The one thing lacking from The Ohio State’s NFL resume is a great, or even good, or even above-average, quarterback. The Buckeye never have had a Pro Bowl quarterback, never had a QB start all 16 games in an NFL season and never even had one throw for 3,000 yards in a season. The Buckeye and Redskin faithful are hoping Dwayne Haskins changes all of that.
2. USC — 521 Players
Marcus Allen won a national championship and Heisman Trophy at USC.
Hall of Famers: 12
Pro Bowl selections: 235
Highest AV: Bruce Matthews (134)
Most touchdowns: Marcus Allen (145)
Most games played: Bruce Matthews (296)
Bottom line: While six states on this list landed multiple programs in the top 25, only one city accomplished the feat, and that’s Los Angeles. Nearly 900 players came from the USC and UCLA campuses (separated by just 11 miles), but the majority of those are singing "Fight On."
While USC comes up second on this list (for now), the Trojans rank first with a staggering 235 Pro Bowl selections. That is 51 more than the team with the next most Pro Bowl selections.
And that team just happens to be the only one that outpaced USC in NFL players produced.
1. Notre Dame — 582 Players
Tim Brown is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and College Football Hall of Fame.
Hall of Famers: 13
Pro Bowl selections: 184
Highest AV: Alan Page (135)
Most touchdowns: Tim Brown (105)
Most games played: John Carney (302)
Bottom line: Whether or not Notre Dame is the greatest program in NCAA history is up for debate, but there’s no denying the impact that the Fighting Irish football program has had on the NFL. Not only have they sent the most players to the league, but they also have sent the most players to the Pro Football Hall of Fame (13), which is perhaps an even better measure of the talent produced by a program.
But even the most diehard of Notre Dame fans would admit that their best days are well behind them. Seven of the school's 11 national championships came in the first half of the 20th century, and none of those titles have come in the last 30 years.
Notre Dame’s lack of recent success bears out in the number of active players the Irish have in the NFL. Despite having the most players all-time, the Fighting Irish ranked just 12th in active players for the 2018 NFL season.