Ranking Every State by Elite College Football Talent Produced | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors
David Craig Score: 91 (40 5-Star Recruits; 20 AP All-Americans; Six 5-star All-Americans; One two-time AP All-American; Two Heisman Winners)
Most Noteworthy Player: Von Miller (Texas A&M LB, 2007-10)
It should come as no surprise that the state which served as the setting for Friday Night Lights has been responsible for a ton of college football's stars. Heisman winners Robert Griffin III and Johnny Manziel both played high school and college football in Texas. Two-time Heisman runner-up Andrew Luck also played high school ball in Texas.
However, rather than choosing from that list of great college QBs, we're giving the "Most Noteworthy Player" title to a five-time Pro Bowl LB who has made a living out of terrorizing quarterbacks. Before becoming the No. 2 pick in the 2011 NFL draft, Von Miller recorded 33.0 sacks for Texas A&M. He did the vast majority of that damage in his final two seasons, averaging better than one sack per game from 2009-10.
With Myles Garrett, Jackson Jeffcoat, Malcom Brown, A'Shawn Robinson, Malik Jefferson and Ed Oliver also available as options, one could make an impenetrable defensive front seven just from guys who went to high school in Texas. And in addition to the aforementioned QBs, offensive weapons like D'Onta Foreman, LaMichael James, Mike Evans, Josh Doctson and Dede Westbrook would make the Lone Star State an unstoppable scoring machine, as well.
All told, Texas has produced 29 All-Americans in the past seven years. That's almost as many as the 31 that Florida and California have combined for during that time. And it's why head coach of the Longhorns remains one of the most sought-after positions in college football despite seven consecutive seasons with fewer than 10 wins.
Kerry Miller covers college football and college basketball for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @kerrancejames.