229 HIGH SCHOOLS HAVE PLAYERS SELECTED IN 2021 NFL DRAFT
AMERICAN HERITAGE (FL) AND IMG ACADEMY (FL) LEAD ALL HIGH SCHOOLS WITH SIX PLAYERS EACH
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 229 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 229 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.”
AMERICAN HERITAGE (Florida) and IMG ACADEMY (Florida) led the way with six players each,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 ties for the lead 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) |
| American Heritage (Plantation, FL) | 6 | Patrick Surtain (Denver/1); Tyson Campbell (Jacksonville/2); Anthony Schwartz (Cleveland/3); Marco Wilson (Arizona/4); Tedarrell Slaton (Green Bay/5); Khalil Herbert (Chicago/6) |
| IMG Academy (Bradenton, FL) | 6 | Andre Cisco (Jacksonville/3); Kellen Mond (Minnesota/3); Robert Hainsey (Tampa Bay/3); Tre’ McKitty (Los Angeles Chargers/3); Joshua Kaindoh (Kansas City/4); Thomas Fletcher (Carolina/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) |
| Lincoln (Gahanna, OH) | 2 | Camaron Cheeseman (Washington/6); Jonathon Cooper (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) |
| Riverdale Baptist (Upper Marlboro, MD) | 2 | Christian Darrisaw (Minnesota/1); Zech McPhearson (Philadelphia/4) |
| Saint Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, FL) | 2 | Elijah Moore (New York Jets/2); Josh Palmer (Los Angeles 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.
- American Heritage and IMG Academy each having six 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 |
