by Lee Brecheen

Punter Donnie Jones - St. Louis Rams (photo courtesy of Artis Twyman, St. Louis Rams)

August 5, 2011 - I’m always told by college coaches that Louisiana is known for skill players when you recruit the state every year, and that is very true.  Louisiana holds its own against any state in numbers in the NFL with skill Running Backs, Wide Receivers, and Defensive Backs.  I see that filming every year. Actually you will see below in the list that a grand total of 49 players are skill players from Louisiana, and they will play in the NFL this year either as a Free Agent, draftee, or a current veteran.  There are also 5 Quarterbacks, 4 Tight Ends, and 2 Punters in the NFL from Louisiana.  The offensive line has 15 players in the NFL - 2 centers and the rest guards and tackles.  There are 16 Wide Receivers and 14 Running Backs in the NFL from Louisiana.

Now let’s look at the Defensive players in the NFL from Louisiana.  Recruiters say the Defensive Line lacks every year in Louisiana, which I don’t agree with.  We may lack in numbers, but not quality, and it shows up right here for the NFL with a grand total of 21 players from Louisiana that play either Defensive End or Defensive Tackle.  Numbers don’t lie, so I hope no one ever says Louisiana doesn’t produce enough great Defensive Tackles or Defensive Ends when there are 21 in the NFL right now.

At Linebacker, Louisiana has 9 players in the NFL.  Defensive Back has the highest number of players for one position for Louisiana natives, and it checks out at 27 players - 14 Cornerbacks, 7 Free Safeties, and 8 Strong Safeties.

Another interesting stat is Louisiana has some future Hall of Famers for Canton/Ohio, and they’re some of the best players in the league right now; namely, QB Peyton Manning (Tennessee, Future Hall of Famer), DT Kyle Williams (LSU), CB Tramon Williams (Louisiana Tech), FS Ed Reed(Miami, Future Hall of Famer), SS Ryan Clark (LSU), WR Mike Wallace (Ole Miss), Center Todd McClure (LSU), Punter Donnie Jones (LSU), Punter Mike Scifres (Western Illinois), DT Pat Williams (Texas A&M), FS Laron Landry (LSU), LB Bradie James (LSU), OT Andrew Whitworth (LSU), QB Eli Manning (Ole Miss), RB Matt Forte (Tulane), SS Dawan Landry (GA Tech), WR Jacoby Jones(Lane College), WR Brandon Stockley (USL Ragin Cajuns), and WR Reggie Wayne (Miami, Future Hall of Famer).

New Orleans leads the state for players by city in the NFL, followed by Baton Rouge.  By High School, O.P. Walker, St. Augustine, and Evangel Christian all tie with 4 players.  By position, defensive back could be called Louisiana Defensive Back U with a grand total of 27 players.

It’s amazing what a small state like Louisiana has been able to do with putting great players in the NFL time after time over the last 30 years with under 300 high schools that play football.  That’s a credit to great high school coaching, and a state that embraces football behind God and Family.

What I did below to make this fun for Louisiana people or anyone across the globe is put these players in three categories broken down by City, Postion, and by High School.  This will let you see a break down and total up what high schools from Louisiana lead the state, what positions lead the state, and what city leads the state in players from Louisiana in the NFL.  This is a list of the NFL only, and not the Canadian Football League or the Arena League.  Some of these players are Free Agents that will get picked up by a NFL team, and some are players that will sign from other leagues by the time the season starts.  I know this list will change some with players changing teams and some players getting cut, but I thought it was fun to show all the players involved for the public to see going in.  I took the metro areas around each city to put some schools in certain areas.  For example, Hahnville is in the New Orleans area since it’s so close to that area in schedule and distance.  I will update this list as the pre-season and the regular season go on, when players still get cut from teams, and teams still pick up free agents.

Current NFL Players from Louisiana by City

Current NFL Players from Louisiana by High School

Current NFL Players from Louisiana by Position

RB/FB Jacob Hester - San Diego Chargers (photo courtesy of Jamaal LaFrance, San Diego Chargers)

SS Hiram Eugene - Oakland Raiders (photo by Tony Gonzales, Oakland Raiders)

DT Howard Green - Green Bay Packers (photo by Jim Biever, Green Bay Packers)

Punter Donnie Jones - St. Louis Rams (photo courtesy of Artis Twyman, St. Louis Rams)

FS Kendrick Lewis - Kansas City Chiefs (photo courtesy of Brad Gee, Kansas City Chiefs)

SS Ryan Clark - Pittsburgh Steelers (photo courtesy of Mike Fabus, Pittsburgh Steelers)

Punter Mike Scifres - San Diego Chargers (photo courtesy of Jamaal LaFrance, San Diego Chargers

WR Brandon Stokley when he was at USL with Lee Brecheen

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