I've always been interested in where people go to college and what sort of trends pro teams may have when they recruit players. Thus going into this weekend I put that interest into action and created a spreadsheet which separates the 4 remaining NFL teams rosters by conference. I tallied up the total players, marked down which NFL team scooped up the most player, and noted some notable players from each conference. And of course pulled together a little conclusion and analysis at the end.
If you care to quiz your knowledge on the subject first I set up a 12 question quiz earlier. Additionally if for some reason you desire the spreadsheet simply send me an email and I will have no problem sending it to you. Since no one apparently wants the spreadsheet even though it's much more informative, I put together a post consisting of all of the players remaining broken down by their college squad lumped within their conference. Hopefully this will appease those who wanted more info / give some clarity to all those who are confused and telling me I forgot the Fred Taylor's of the world.
Now onto the Conference by Conference breakdown sorted by which Conference has the most representatives during this weekends title game matchups.
Big Ten (35)
The Big 10 lead the way with the amount of players with 35 which of course includes the Golden Boy. They just passed over the SEC in total players thanks to the Chargers having two place kickers on the roster from the Big 10 but in reality Big 10 aficionados should be proud as there are a ton of impact players from the 'slow' conference playing this weekend.
Most Notable Players: Tom Brady, Plaxico Burress, Mike Vrabel, Charles Woodson , Shaun Philips, Aaron Kampman
Biggest School Contributor: Ohio State with 6.
NFL Team With Most Players: San Diego with 12.
SEC (34)
While SEC proponents may not be able to brag about having the most players represented this weekend, they'll certainly be able to brag about the Patriots and there vast amount of SEC players. However, the other downward thought is that the Big 10 has vastly more impact players headed into the weekend.
Most Notable Players: Eli Manning, Richard Seymour, Donald Lee, Benjamin Watson
Biggest School Contributor: Tennessee with 8.
NFL Team With Most Players: New England with 13.
ACC (29)
It's amazing to see just how crappy the ACC is now, especially the U, when you look at just how many NFL players they produced only a few years ago.
Most Notable Players: Philip Rivers, Antonio Cromratie, Vince Wilfork, Shawne Merriman
Biggest School Contributor: The U with 7 players.
NFL Team With Most Players: New York with 13.
Big 12 (24)
The Big 12 doubled up with 24 players. The most notable abscence being that no team in the conference championship game has a single player from the Oklahoma Sooners.
Most Notable Players: Wes Welker, Quentin Jammer, Ty Warren, Aaron Ross
Biggest School Contributor: Nebraska with 5.
NFL Team With Most Players: New England with 9.
Pac 10 (21)
When you think Pac 10 you often think high flying offenses and zero defense. But the teams in the Conference Championship games are using big name defenders from the West Coast.
Most Notable Players: Junior Seau, Tedy Bruschi, Antonio Pearce, Igor Olshansky, Nick Barnett
Biggest School Contributor: USC with 6.
NFL Team With Most Players: New York with 8.
Conference USA (14)
The Conference USA is a pretty shat conference right now but don't tell that to that to the Pack and Pats who both plucked out two gems from the fold.
Most Notable Players: Randy Moss, Brett Favre, Adalius Thomas, Asante Samual, Atari Bigby,
Biggest School Contributor: Marshall with 4. Stupid Marshall switching conferences.
NFL Team With Most Players: New England with 5.
WAC (13)
The WAC dominated its divorced, the Mountain West, in total players but lacked any true name value.
Most Notable Players: Logan Mankins, Billy Volek, James Jones
Biggest School Contributor: Fresno St. with 6.
NFL Team With Most Players: Green Bay with 7.
MAC (10)
Apparently if you're looking for a dynamic playmaker you should start watching some MAC games.
Most Notable Players: Antonio Gates, Greg Jennings, Michael Turner
Biggest School Contributor: Akron, Kent St. and Central Michigan with 2.
NFL Team With Most Players: Green Bay with 4.
Big East (8)
The Big East wouldn't have been so low if the U and BC hadn't exited the conference a few years back. With those two schools the Big East would have sat at 19, however without them they are lower than most 'Mid Major' conferences.
Most Notable Players: Shaun O'Hara, Sam Madison, Kawika Mitchell
Biggest School Contributor: Louisville with 3.
NFL Team With Most Players: New York with 4.
Independents (7)
The Independent schools in 1-A are limited to 4 with Navy and Western Kentucky both contributing one player while Army contributed none.
Most Notable Players: Ryan Grant, Justin Tuck
Biggest School Contributor: Notre Dame with 5.
NFL Team With Most Players: New England with 3.
Mountain West (6)
The Mountain West comes in with a very unimpressive 6 total but does have argaubly the best representative in LaDainian.
Most Notable Players: LT, Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila
Biggest School Contributor: San Diego St. with 2.
NFL Team With Most Players: San Diego with 4.
Sun Belt (5)
The Sun Belt once again shows why no one cares about it after providing the least amount of players in the Conference Championship games.
Most Notable Players: Osi Umenyiora
Biggest School Contributor: Troy with 2.
NFL Team With Most Players: New York with 3.
Division 1-AA (26)
Some big names coming Division 1-AA including two probably Hall of Famers in Strahan and Harrison.
Most Notable Players: Rodney Harrison, Donald Driver, Michael Strahan, Brandon Jacobs
Biggest School Contributor: Western Illinois with 3.
NFL Team With Most Players: New York with 10.
Division 2 or Lower (15)
Surprisingly there are 15 players on these rosters from a Division 2 level or lower football team.
Most Notable Players: Al Harris (Texas A&M Kingsville), Ruvell Martin (Saginaw Valley)
Biggest School Contributor: Shippensburg with 2.
NFL Team With Most Players: Green Bay with 8.
Conclusion and Analysis
~When Eli Manning is definitively your number 1 notable player, it's not a good thing.
~There are some notable colleges without players represented including several high powered 2007 squads. Oklahoma, Kansas, Hawaii, West Virginia are all BCS squads in 2007 whom have no representation this weekend.
~I find it interesting how there are some commonalities and contrasts regarding regions and players on their roster. For instance New York Big East and ACC players but also has the most Sun Belt and Pac 10 players. Green Bay has the most MAC players but also the most WAC players. San Diego has the most Mountain West players but also the most Big Ten Players.
~The Patriots dominate the SEC with 13 total players on their roster. However with the exception of Benjamin Watson and Richard Seymour most of the other players are are backups or role players such as Kevin Faulk, Randall Gay, Jabar Gaffney, etc.
~Not only does the MAC provide Randy Moss, Greg Jennings and Antonio Gates but also Ahmad Bradshaw, long time Pat wideout Troy Brown and dynamic kick returner Domenick Hixon. No wonder most MAC games are complete shoot outs.
~The homestate UConn Huskies unsurprisingly have no reps.
~The Giants only have two players from the Big 12 and both are cornerbacks. Aaron Ross and R.W. McQuarters.
~The Ivy League has three reps one from Brown, Cornell and UPenn each.
~Steve Smith and Rueben Droughns are the only WR and RB representatives from the Pac 10 respectively.
~And lastly after all the ridicule the Big Ten took this season, plenty of it from me, those looking on this weekend will have plenty to boast about. The Big 10 has the most players in the game and definitively has the most big name players in the game.
If you care to quiz your knowledge on the subject first I set up a 12 question quiz earlier. Additionally if for some reason you desire the spreadsheet simply send me an email and I will have no problem sending it to you. Since no one apparently wants the spreadsheet even though it's much more informative, I put together a post consisting of all of the players remaining broken down by their college squad lumped within their conference. Hopefully this will appease those who wanted more info / give some clarity to all those who are confused and telling me I forgot the Fred Taylor's of the world.
Now onto the Conference by Conference breakdown sorted by which Conference has the most representatives during this weekends title game matchups.
Big Ten (35)The Big 10 lead the way with the amount of players with 35 which of course includes the Golden Boy. They just passed over the SEC in total players thanks to the Chargers having two place kickers on the roster from the Big 10 but in reality Big 10 aficionados should be proud as there are a ton of impact players from the 'slow' conference playing this weekend.
Most Notable Players: Tom Brady, Plaxico Burress, Mike Vrabel, Charles Woodson , Shaun Philips, Aaron Kampman
Biggest School Contributor: Ohio State with 6.
NFL Team With Most Players: San Diego with 12.
SEC (34)
While SEC proponents may not be able to brag about having the most players represented this weekend, they'll certainly be able to brag about the Patriots and there vast amount of SEC players. However, the other downward thought is that the Big 10 has vastly more impact players headed into the weekend.
Most Notable Players: Eli Manning, Richard Seymour, Donald Lee, Benjamin Watson
Biggest School Contributor: Tennessee with 8.
NFL Team With Most Players: New England with 13.
ACC (29)
It's amazing to see just how crappy the ACC is now, especially the U, when you look at just how many NFL players they produced only a few years ago.
Most Notable Players: Philip Rivers, Antonio Cromratie, Vince Wilfork, Shawne Merriman
Biggest School Contributor: The U with 7 players.
NFL Team With Most Players: New York with 13.
Big 12 (24)The Big 12 doubled up with 24 players. The most notable abscence being that no team in the conference championship game has a single player from the Oklahoma Sooners.
Most Notable Players: Wes Welker, Quentin Jammer, Ty Warren, Aaron Ross
Biggest School Contributor: Nebraska with 5.
NFL Team With Most Players: New England with 9.
Pac 10 (21)
When you think Pac 10 you often think high flying offenses and zero defense. But the teams in the Conference Championship games are using big name defenders from the West Coast.
Most Notable Players: Junior Seau, Tedy Bruschi, Antonio Pearce, Igor Olshansky, Nick Barnett
Biggest School Contributor: USC with 6.
NFL Team With Most Players: New York with 8.
Conference USA (14)The Conference USA is a pretty shat conference right now but don't tell that to that to the Pack and Pats who both plucked out two gems from the fold.
Most Notable Players: Randy Moss, Brett Favre, Adalius Thomas, Asante Samual, Atari Bigby,
Biggest School Contributor: Marshall with 4. Stupid Marshall switching conferences.
NFL Team With Most Players: New England with 5.
WAC (13)
The WAC dominated its divorced, the Mountain West, in total players but lacked any true name value.
Most Notable Players: Logan Mankins, Billy Volek, James Jones
Biggest School Contributor: Fresno St. with 6.
NFL Team With Most Players: Green Bay with 7.
MAC (10)
Apparently if you're looking for a dynamic playmaker you should start watching some MAC games.
Most Notable Players: Antonio Gates, Greg Jennings, Michael Turner
Biggest School Contributor: Akron, Kent St. and Central Michigan with 2.
NFL Team With Most Players: Green Bay with 4.
Big East (8)
The Big East wouldn't have been so low if the U and BC hadn't exited the conference a few years back. With those two schools the Big East would have sat at 19, however without them they are lower than most 'Mid Major' conferences.
Most Notable Players: Shaun O'Hara, Sam Madison, Kawika Mitchell
Biggest School Contributor: Louisville with 3.
NFL Team With Most Players: New York with 4.
Independents (7)The Independent schools in 1-A are limited to 4 with Navy and Western Kentucky both contributing one player while Army contributed none.
Most Notable Players: Ryan Grant, Justin Tuck
Biggest School Contributor: Notre Dame with 5.
NFL Team With Most Players: New England with 3.
Mountain West (6)
The Mountain West comes in with a very unimpressive 6 total but does have argaubly the best representative in LaDainian.
Most Notable Players: LT, Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila
Biggest School Contributor: San Diego St. with 2.
NFL Team With Most Players: San Diego with 4.
Sun Belt (5)
The Sun Belt once again shows why no one cares about it after providing the least amount of players in the Conference Championship games.
Most Notable Players: Osi Umenyiora
Biggest School Contributor: Troy with 2.
NFL Team With Most Players: New York with 3.
Division 1-AA (26)Some big names coming Division 1-AA including two probably Hall of Famers in Strahan and Harrison.
Most Notable Players: Rodney Harrison, Donald Driver, Michael Strahan, Brandon Jacobs
Biggest School Contributor: Western Illinois with 3.
NFL Team With Most Players: New York with 10.
Division 2 or Lower (15)
Surprisingly there are 15 players on these rosters from a Division 2 level or lower football team.
Most Notable Players: Al Harris (Texas A&M Kingsville), Ruvell Martin (Saginaw Valley)
Biggest School Contributor: Shippensburg with 2.
NFL Team With Most Players: Green Bay with 8.
Conclusion and Analysis
~When Eli Manning is definitively your number 1 notable player, it's not a good thing.~There are some notable colleges without players represented including several high powered 2007 squads. Oklahoma, Kansas, Hawaii, West Virginia are all BCS squads in 2007 whom have no representation this weekend.
~I find it interesting how there are some commonalities and contrasts regarding regions and players on their roster. For instance New York Big East and ACC players but also has the most Sun Belt and Pac 10 players. Green Bay has the most MAC players but also the most WAC players. San Diego has the most Mountain West players but also the most Big Ten Players.
~The Patriots dominate the SEC with 13 total players on their roster. However with the exception of Benjamin Watson and Richard Seymour most of the other players are are backups or role players such as Kevin Faulk, Randall Gay, Jabar Gaffney, etc.
~Not only does the MAC provide Randy Moss, Greg Jennings and Antonio Gates but also Ahmad Bradshaw, long time Pat wideout Troy Brown and dynamic kick returner Domenick Hixon. No wonder most MAC games are complete shoot outs.
~The homestate UConn Huskies unsurprisingly have no reps.
~The Giants only have two players from the Big 12 and both are cornerbacks. Aaron Ross and R.W. McQuarters.
~The Ivy League has three reps one from Brown, Cornell and UPenn each.
~Steve Smith and Rueben Droughns are the only WR and RB representatives from the Pac 10 respectively.
~And lastly after all the ridicule the Big Ten took this season, plenty of it from me, those looking on this weekend will have plenty to boast about. The Big 10 has the most players in the game and definitively has the most big name players in the game.
Comments
Eli is the most notable player from the SEC? Really? Not Peyton?
Ahmad Bradshaw of the Giants played his freshman year in the MAC, then two seasons in Conference UDA
@Woody I didn't do where players played when they were at the school, simply what conference that school is in now. If I did it that way the Big East would have been much higher.
Let's see, when Brady was at Michigan, they won the National Championship in '97. Brady was the backup, but still on the team.
And I seem to remember a 2002 National Title from the Buckeyes. A team that included AJ Hawk and Sand Diego OL Shane olivea. So tell me again how The BigEleven hasn't won anything "every now and then?"
How's Auburn doing? Maybe Jordan-Hare Hillbillies should worry more about their team not losing 4 games every year, and focus on getting to the Georgia Dome "every now and than..."
Really bad list.. stop trying
I would like to see a list of all the players from each conference and their schools. Would be more informative as to how you compiled the list.
Really the spreadsheet is much more informative cause you can manipulate it.