228 High Schools Have Players Selected in 2021 Nfl Draft
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 5/4/21 228 HIGH SCHOOLS HAVE PLAYERS SELECTED IN 2021 NFL DRAFT IMG ACADEMY (FL) LEADS ALL HIGH SCHOOLS FOR SECOND-CONSECUTIVE YEAR WITH SEVEN PLAYERS SELECTED With the 2021 NFL Draft now concluded, the incoming class of drafted rookies will soon experience its first taste of NFL life. And while the drafted rookies enter the NFL from a variety of different backgrounds, one thing they generally all have in common is an outstanding experience playing high school football. A total of 228 high schools contributed to the 259 players selected in the seven rounds of the April 29-May 1 Draft. “It’s great to see the football path continue for these prospects who represent 228 different high schools from around the country, and increasingly, the world,” said ROMAN OBEN, the NFL’s Vice President of Football Development. “We believe football is a great game that instills character, resiliency, and confidence in many young men and women, whether they end up playing on Sundays or not.” IMG ACADEMY (Florida) led the way with seven players selected, AMERICAN HERITAGE (Florida) followed with six players selected, while 14 high schools – ALLEN (Texas), ARCHBISHOP WOOD CATHOLIC (Pennsylvania), BINGHAM (Utah), BISHOP O’DOWD (California), EPISCOPAL (Texas), LAWRENCE CENTRAL (Indiana), LINCOLN (Ohio), MIAMI NORTHWESTERN (Florida), OAK RIDGE (Texas), PARKWAY (Louisiana), RANCHO CUCAMONGA (California), RIVERDALE BAPTIST (Maryland), SAINT THOMAS AQUINAS (Florida) and WESTLAKE (Texas) – each had two players selected. IMG Academy has the most players selected for the second-consecutive year after leading all high schools with four players selected in the 2020 NFL Draft last year. “I think a huge reason for everybody wanting to go to IMG Academy is just being surrounded by the best players in the country,” said quarterback and Minnesota Vikings third-round pick KELLEN MOND, who attended the school alongside Jacksonville Jaguars third-round pick ANDRE CISCO, Carolina Panthers sixth-round pick THOMAS FLETCHER, Tampa Bay Buccaneers third-round pick ROBERT HAINSEY, Kansas City Chiefs fourth-round pick JOSHUA KAINDOH and Los Angeles Chargers third-round pick TRE’ MCKITTY. “All of the starters and everyone who was around there, everybody had dreams of going to the NFL and had dreams of being great college players. Just surrounding myself with people that had that mentality is exactly what I wanted as a football player.” The breakdown of the 16 high schools that had multiple players drafted by NFL clubs: HIGH SCHOOL TOTAL PLAYERS (NFL TEAM/ROUND) Greg Newsome (Cleveland/1); Andre Cisco (Jacksonville/3); Kellen Mond (Minnesota/3); Robert Hainsey (Tampa Bay/3); Tre’ McKitty IMG Academy (Bradenton, FL) 7 (Los Angeles Chargers/3); Joshua Kaindoh (Kansas City/4); Thomas Fletcher (Carolina/6) Patrick Surtain (Denver/1); Tyson Campbell (Jacksonville/2); American Heritage (Plantation, FL) 6 Anthony Schwartz (Cleveland/3); Marco Wilson (Arizona/4); Tedarrell Slaton (Green Bay/5); Khalil Herbert (Chicago/6) Allen (Allen, TX) 2 Levi Onwuzurike (Detroit/2); William Sherman (New England/6) Archbishop Wood Catholic (Warminster, PA) 2 Kyle Pitts (Atlanta/1); Mark Webb (Los Angeles Chargers/7) Bingham (South Jordan, UT) 2 Jay Tufele (Jacksonville/4); Dax Milne (Washington/7) Bishop O’Dowd (Oakland, CA) 2 Alijah Vera-Tucker (New York Jets/1); Jevon Holland (Miami/2) Episcopal (Bellaire, TX) 2 Jaylen Waddle (Miami/1); Walker Little (Jacksonville/2) Lawrence Central (Indianapolis, IN) 2 Cameron McGrone (New England/5); Gerrid Doaks (Miami/7) 2 Camaron Cheeseman (Washington/6); Jonathon Cooper Lincoln (Gahanna, OH) (Denver/7) Miami Northwestern (Miami, FL) 2 Tutu Atwell (Los Angeles Rams/2); Rachad Wildgoose (Buffalo/6) Oak Ridge (Conroe, TX) 2 Joseph Ossai (Cincinnati/3); Grant Stuard (Tampa Bay/7) Parkway (Bossier City, LA) 2 Terrace Marshall (Carolina/2); Israel Mukuamu (Dallas/6) Rancho Cucamonga (Alta Loma, CA) 2 Darren Hall (Atlanta/4); Thomas Graham (Chicago/6) 2 Christian Darrisaw (Minnesota/1); Zech McPhearson Riverdale Baptist (Upper Marlboro, MD) (Philadelphia/4) 2 Elijah Moore (New York Jets/2); Josh Palmer (Los Angeles Saint Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, FL) Chargers/3) Westlake (Austin, TX) 2 Kylen Granson (Indianapolis/4); Sam Ehlinger (Indianapolis/6) STATES WITH MOST NFL PLAYERS DRAFTED IN 2021 PER CAPITA STATE POPULATION * NFL PLAYERS NFL PLAYERS PER CAPITA Louisiana 4,657,757 13 1 NFL player per 358,289 people Utah 3,271,616 7 1 NFL player per 467,374 people Georgia 10,711,908 20 1 NFL player per 535,595 people Florida 21,538,187 37 1 NFL player per 582,113 people District of Columbia 689,545 1 1 NFL player per 689,545 people UNITED STATES 331,449,281 257 1 NFL player per 1,289,696 people * Based on most recent U.S. Census Data (2020) STATE BREAKDOWN STATE PLAYERS DRAFTED STATE PLAYERS DRAFTED Florida 37 Wisconsin 4 Texas 33 Illinois 3 Georgia 20 Kansas 3 California 19 Nevada 3 Louisiana 13 Oklahoma 3 North Carolina 10 South Carolina 3 Ohio 9 Connecticut 2 Michigan 8 New York 2 Pennsylvania 8 Arkansas 1 Alabama 7 Arizona 1 Utah 7 Idaho 1 Indiana 6 Iowa 1 Maryland 6 Nebraska 1 Oregon 6 Rhode Island 1 Virginia 6 South Dakota 1 Massachusetts 5 Washington 1 Tennessee 5 Kentucky 4 District of Columbia 1 Minnesota 4 Mississippi 4 International 2 Missouri 4 New Jersey 4 TOTAL 259 Some interesting notes on high schools in the 2021 NFL Draft: • Thirty-eight states, as well as Washington, D.C., had at least one player drafted. • For the 15th time in the past 16 seasons, at least one player who attended high school outside of the United States was selected in the NFL Draft [RB Chuba Hubbard (Alberta, Canada) and DB Benjamin St-Juste (Quebec, Canada)]. It also marks the second consecutive year that multiple players from Canadian high schools were drafted. • Florida (37) and Texas (33) each had at least 30 players selected, marking the first year since 2016 that features two states with at least 30 players selected. That year it was also Florida (30) and Texas (32). • Florida leads all states in drafted players for the third time in the past four years. • Florida and Georgia lead all states with five first-round selections each. • IMG Academy’s seven players selected is the highest total for any school in a single NFL Draft since at least 2013. The 2021 NFL Draft broken down by state listing of high schools: ALABAMA (7) PLAYER NFL TEAM (ROUND) COLLEGE HIGH SCHOOL (CITY) LB K.J. Britt Tampa Bay (5) Auburn Oxford G Deonte Brown Carolina (6) Alabama Austin (Decatur) WR Nico Collins Houston (3) Michigan Clay Chalkville (Pinson) K Evan McPherson Cincinnati (5) Florida Fort Payne LB Monty Rice Tennessee (3) Georgia James Clemens (Huntsville) WR Kadarius Toney New York Giants (1) Florida M T Blount (Prichard) WR Seth Williams Denver (6) Auburn Paul W. Bryant (Cottondale) ARIZONA (1) PLAYER NFL TEAM (ROUND) COLLEGE HIGH SCHOOL (CITY) DT Roy Lopez Houston (6) Arizona Mesquite (Gilbert) ARKANSAS (1) PLAYER NFL TEAM (ROUND) COLLEGE HIGH SCHOOL (CITY) DB Tre Norwood Pittsburgh (7) Oklahoma Northside (Fort Smith) CALIFORNIA (19) PLAYER NFL TEAM (ROUND) COLLEGE HIGH SCHOOL (CITY) G Aaron Banks San Francisco (2) Notre Dame El Cerrito QB Ian Book New Orleans (4) Notre Dame Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills) DB Camryn Bynum Minnesota (4) California Centennial (Corona) C Drew Dalman Atlanta (4) Stanford Palma (Salinas) G Wyatt Davis Minnesota (3) Ohio State St. John Bosco (Bellflower) RB Demetric Felton Cleveland (6) UCLA Great Oak (Temecula) DB Thomas Graham Chicago (6) Oregon Rancho Cucamonga (Alta Loma) DB Darren Hall Atlanta (4) San Diego State Rancho Cucamonga (Alta Loma) RB Najee Harris Pittsburgh (1) Alabama Antioch DB Jevon Holland Miami (2) Oregon Bishop O’Dowd (Oakland) RB Jermar Jefferson Detroit (7) Oregon State Narbonne (Harbor City) DB Deommodore Lenoir San Francisco (5) Oregon Salesian (Los Angeles) DE Jaelan Phillips Miami (1) Miami (FL) Redlands East Valley (Redlands) WR Amon-Ra St. Brown Detroit (4) Southern California Mater Dei (Santa Ana) DB Keith Taylor Carolina (5) Washington Servite (Anaheim) G Alijah Vera-Tucker New York Jets (1) Southern California Bishop O’Dowd (Oakland) DB Chris Wilcox Tampa Bay (7) Brigham Young Roosevelt (Fresno) DB Avery Williams Atlanta (5) Boise State Jserra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano) DB Nahshon Wright Dallas (3) Oregon State James Logan (Union City) CONNECTICUT (2) PLAYER NFL TEAM (ROUND) COLLEGE HIGH SCHOOL (CITY) TE Ben Mason Baltimore (5) Michigan Newtown (Sandy Hook) DB Jason Pinnock New York Jets (5) Pittsburgh Windsor FLORIDA (37) PLAYER NFL TEAM (ROUND) COLLEGE HIGH SCHOOL (CITY) WR Tutu Atwell Los Angeles Rams (2) Louisville Miami Northwestern (Miami) DB Tyson Campbell Jacksonville (2) Georgia American Heritage (Plantation) RB Michael Carter New York Jets (4) North Carolina Navarre DB Andre Cisco Jacksonville (3) Syracuse IMG Academy (Bradenton) DB Shawn Davis Indianapolis (5) Florida Miami Southridge Senior (Miami) LS Thomas Fletcher Carolina (6) Alabama IMG Academy (Bradenton) T Stone Forsythe Seattle (6) Florida West Orange (Winter Garden) DB Tyree Gillespie Las Vegas (4) Missouri Vanguard (Ocala) DB Richie Grant Atlanta (2) Central Florida Choctawhatchee (Fort Walton Beach) T Robert Hainsey Tampa Bay (3) Notre Dame IMG Academy (Bradenton) TE Jacob Harris Los Angeles Rams (4) Central Florida Palm Harbor University (Palm Harbor) RB Khalil Herbert Chicago (6) Virginia Tech American Heritage (Plantation) DB Shemar Jean-Charles Green Bay (5) Appalachian State Miramar DB Jamar Johnson Denver (5) Indiana Riverview