When it comes to turning out professional football players, DeMatha is No. 1 in the country, according to USA Football.
The Stags, ranked No. 1 every week this season in MdVarsity.com's state media football poll, have seven alumni currently playing in the NFL – two more than a handful of other teams including Eleanor Roosevelt, which has five, according to USA Football statistics released today. The numbers were based on NFL kickoff weekend rosters, which included 1,695 players from schools in 48 states, Washington, D.C., American Samoa and five foreign countries.
"I'm very proud to have been a part of their program," said DeMatha graduate and Philadelphia Eagles running back Brian Westbrook in a news release. "My high school coach (Bill McGregor, the 2004 NFL High School Coach of the Year) continues to be an inspiration and source of support for me." In addition to Westbrook, the Stags have sent to the NFL: Quinn Ojinnaka of the Atlanta Falcons, John Owens and Josh Wilson of the Seattle Seahawks, Derek Wake of the Miami Dolphins, and Edwin Williams and Byron Westbrook of the Washington Redskins. Roosevelt's alumni are Jared Gaither of the Ravens, Derrick Burgess of the New England Patriots, Will Davis of the Arizona Cardinals, Derrick Harvey of the Jacksonville Jaguars and Derrick Williams of the Detroit Lions.
Among states with the most NFL players, Maryland ranks 13th, tied with New Jersey, with 43, according to USA Football, the national governing body for youth and amateur football. California has the most current NFL players, 205, followed by Texas with 179 and Florida with 176.
Consider the odds of becoming an NFL player. There are 1,695 NFL rosters spots and 281,421,906 people in the United States. That's one NFL player per 166,031 people. Maryland, which ranks 10th in NFL players per capita, beats the national odds with one of every 123,174 citizens playing in the NFL. Your odds are best in Louisiana: one in 55,862.