College Teams with Most NFL Products

I heard this talked about on a local sports radio program the other day and it really sheds some light on the current state of the ACC. This, to me, is the biggest reason the ACC is behind some of the other top football conferences in national credibility and significance. Below is a list of the top programs in terms of producing NFL talent:

1. Miami (FL) - 46
2. Ohio State - 44
3. Florida St. - 41
4. Georgia - 37
5. Tennessee - 36
5. Michigan - 36
7. LSU - 32
7. Texas - 32
9. Florida - 31
10. Auburn - 30

The ACC only has two programs in the top 10 in terms of NFL talent and both of those have many players that have been there a while. FSU and Miami have always produced players with great speed and just really good football players. However, no one else in the ACC even comes close. The other thing to notice: There are 5 SEC teams on the list (just in the top 10). It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that the best talent wins football games and the ACC has not had that elite talent. If the ACC wants to be one of the best or the best football conference in America, they need to get better players.

I am watching the South Carolina vs. Ole Miss game right now and tell me how many teams in the ACC could be SC. Not many. And South Carolina is somewhere between the 5-7 range in the SEC.

Virginia Tech always seems to be one more great player away of competing for national championships. Clemson always seems to have great talent at the skill positions but often complain about their offensive line play. Virginia produces some NFL talent but obviously not enough. Georgia Tech is the same way and their program will obviously trend differently now with the new offensive system. Duke and Wake Forest are never going to produce a ton of NFL talent and have to find other ways to win. Maryland is pretty much in that same boat (along with Boston College). The North Carolina state schools (UNC and NCSU) have to recruit better along the east and south as there are simply not enough good high school football players in North Carolina to go around.

The best way to get more talent is to win games on the field, and with the exception of Virginia Tech, ACC programs have not been doing that consistently enough recently. Gotta have the horses.