Atlanta (Special to NFLNewsbyZennie62.com) – The conclusion of the 2024 NFL Draft in Detroit reveals this news: high schools in the states of Florida, Texas, and Georgia lead all states in players drafted last week.
With the conclusion of the 2024 NFL Draft, this year’s class of drafted rookies will soon begin life in the NFL.
While each drafted rookie enters the NFL from a different background, the one thing they all have in common is an outstanding experience playing high school football.
A total of 232 high schools contributed to the 257 players selected in the seven rounds of the April 25-27 Draft.
“Each year, the NFL Draft marks a transition from college football to the NFL,” said NFL Vice President of Football Development ROMAN OBEN. “The Draft represents years of hard work and childhood dreams fulfilled, shared by families and entire communities. Two hundred fifty-seven players were drafted representing 232 different high schools. Many more received phone calls to sign as rookie free agents. As American football continues to gain global appeal, it inspires boys and girls from around the world to dream the NFL dream, catch the passion of playing, and experience the life-transforming development of character, confidence, and resilience unique to football participation.”
BISHOP GORMAN (Las Vegas, Nev.) and IMG ACADEMY (Bradenton, Fla.) led the way with three players selected, while 21 high schools – AVON (Ind.), BLAIR ACADEMY (Blairstown, N.J.), CALABASAS (Calif.), DEERFIELD BEACH (Fla.), DENTON (Texas), GODBY (Tallahassee, Fla.), GONZAGA (Washington, D.C.), GOOD COUNSEL (Olney, Md.), HAMILTON (Chandler, Ariz.), LONE STAR (Frisco, Texas), PINSON VALLEY (Pinson, Ala.), RAVENWOOD (Brentwood, Tenn.), RIVER ROUGE (Mich.), SAINT JOSEPH’S PREP (Philadelphia, Pa.), SAINT THOMAS AQUINAS (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), SPANISH FORT (Ala.), ST. FRANCES (Baltimore, Md.), TIMBER CREEK (Sicklerville, N.J.), VALOR CHRISTIAN (Highlands Ranch, Colo.), WEDDINGTON (Matthews, N.C.) and WEIKIVA (Apopka, Fla.) – each had two players selected.
“It’s great for my high school and great for the Las Vegas Valley as a whole,“ said Chicago Bears wide receiver ROME ODUNZE, a graduate of Bishop Gorman. “We will continue to represent Vegas and if you’re a coach looking for some ballers you know where to find us! Bear Down.”
IMG Academy, with JC Latham (No. 7 overall) and J.J. McCarthy (No. 10), became the first high school to have two players selected in the top-10 of the same NFL Draft since at least 1970. IMG Academy is the only school to have multiple players drafted in each of the past six years and have produced a first-round selection for the fifth-consecutive draft (Latham and McCarthy in 2024, Nolan Smith in 2023, Evan Neal in 2022, Greg Newsome in 2021 and Cesar Ruiz in 2020).
Gonzaga High School, in Washington, D.C. – with No. 1 overall selection Caleb Williams (Chicago Bears) and No. 11 pick Olu Fashanu (New York Jets) – joined IMG Academy as the only high schools to produce multiple first round selections in 2024.
“It’s exciting to have two guys from Gonzaga get drafted this year,” said Chicago Bears quarterback CALEB WILLIAMS, a graduate of Gonzaga. “I think it speaks to the history and tradition of our great program and hopefully we can have more Eagles drafted in the years to come!”
The breakdown of the 23 high schools that had multiple players drafted by NFL clubs:
| HIGH SCHOOL | TOTAL | PLAYERS (NFL TEAM/ROUND) |
| Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.) | 3 | Rome Odunze (Chicago/1); Jaden Hicks (Kansas City/4);Edefuan Ulofoshio (Buffalo/5) |
| IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) | 3 | JC Latham (Tennessee/1); J.J. McCarthy (Minnesota/1);Xavier Thomas (Arizona/5) |
| Avon (Ind.) | 2 | Blake Fisher (Houston/2); Isaac Guerendo (San Francisco/4) |
| Blair Academy (Blairstown, N.J.) | 2 | Ray Davis (Buffalo/4); Sanoussi Kane (Baltimore/7) |
| Calabasas (Calif.) | 2 | Jermaine Burton (Cincinnati/3); Johnny Wilson (Philadelphia/6) |
| Deerfield Beach (Fla.) | 2 | Brandon Dorlus (Atlanta/4); Michael Pratt (Green Bay/7) |
| Denton (Texas) | 2 | Brandon Coleman (Washington/3); Ja’Tavion Sanders (Carolina/4) |
| Godby (Tallahassee, Fla.) | 2 | Javon Solomon (Buffalo/5); Jaylen Key (New York Jets/7) |
| Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.) | 2 | Caleb Williams (Chicago/1); Olu Fashanu (New York Jets/1) |
| Good Counsel (Olney, Md.) | 2 | Kris Jenkins (Cincinnati/2); Cam Hart (Los Angeles Chargers/5) |
| Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.) | 2 | Jawhar Jordan (Houston/6); Brenden Rice (Los Angeles Chargers/7) |
| Lone Star (Frisco, Texas) | 2 | Jaylan Ford (New Orleans/5); Trey Taylor (Las Vegas/7) |
| Pinson Valley (Pinson, Ala.) | 2 | Bo Nix (Denver/1); Kool-Aid McKinstry (New Orleans/2) |
| Ravenwood (Brentwood, Tenn.) | 2 | Graham Barton (Tampa Bay/1);Junior Colson (Los Angeles Chargers/3) |
| River Rouge (Mich.) | 2 | Ruke Orhorhoro (Atlanta/2); Kamal Hadden (Kansas City/6) |
| Saint Joseph’s Prep (Philadelphia, Pa.) | 2 | Marvin Harrison Jr. (Arizona/1); Jeremiah Trotter (Philadelphia/5) |
| Saint Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) | 2 | Dallas Turner (Minnesota/1); Jaden Davis (Arizona/7) |
| Spanish Fort (Ala.) | 2 | Kris Abrams-Draine (Denver/5); D.J. James (Seattle/6) |
| St. Frances (Baltimore, Md.) | 2 | Chris Braswell (Tampa Bay/2); Blake Corum (Los Angeles Rams/3) |
| Timber Creek (Sicklerville, N.J.) | 2 | Tarheeb Still (Los Angeles Chargers/5); Devin Leary (Baltimore/6) |
| Valor Christian (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) | 2 | Roger Rosengarten (Baltimore/2); Luke McCaffrey (Washington/3) |
| Weddington (Matthews, N.C.) | 2 | Malik Mustapha (San Francisco/4); Will Shipley (Philadelphia/4) |
| Wekiva (Apopka, Fla.) | 2 | Renardo Green (San Francisco/2); Tyler Davis (Los Angeles Rams/6) |
HIGH SCHOOL STATES WITH MOST NFL PLAYERS DRAFTED IN 2024 PER CAPITA
| STATE | POPULATION * | NFL PLAYERS | NFL PLAYERS PER CAPITA | |
| District of Columbia | 689,545 | 4 | 1 NFL player per 172,386 people | |
| Louisiana | 4,657,757 | 11 | 1 NFL player per 423,432 people | |
| South Dakota | 886,667 | 2 | 1 NFL player per 443,334 people | |
| Georgia | 10,711,908 | 23 | 1 NFL player per 465,735 people | |
| Hawaii | 1,455,271 | 3 | 1 NFL player per 485,090 people | |
| UNITED STATES | 331,449,281 | 251 | 1 NFL player per 1,320,515 people | |
| * Based on most recent U.S. Census Data (2020) | ||||
STATE BREAKDOWN BY HIGH SCHOOL
| STATE | PLAYERS DRAFTED | STATE | PLAYERS DRAFTED |
| Florida | 30 | Colorado | 2 |
| Texas | 24 | Iowa | 2 |
| Georgia | 23 | Massachusetts | 2 |
| California | 18 | Oklahoma | 2 |
| Louisiana | 11 | Oregon | 2 |
| New Jersey | 11 | South Dakota | 2 |
| Alabama | 10 | Utah | 2 |
| Maryland | 10 | Washington | 2 |
| North Carolina | 10 | Connecticut | 1 |
| Ohio | 10 | Delaware | 1 |
| Arizona | 8 | Idaho | 1 |
| Illinois | 7 | Kansas | 1 |
| Michigan | 7 | Kentucky | 1 |
| Indiana | 6 | Minnesota | 1 |
| Pennsylvania | 6 | Virginia | 1 |
| Mississippi | 5 | West Virginia | 1 |
| Nevada | 5 | ||
| New York | 5 | ||
| District of Columbia | 4 | International | 6 |
| Missouri | 4 | ||
| Tennessee | 4 | ||
| Hawaii | 3 | TOTAL | 257 |
| South Carolina | 3 | ||
| Wisconsin | 3 |
Some interesting notes on high schools in the 2024 NFL Draft:
- Thirty-nine states and the District of Columbia each had at least one player drafted.
- Florida produced 30 drafted players, the most among all states, and is the state to produce the most drafted players in five of the past seven NFL Drafts (2018-19, 2021, 2023-24). Florida led all states with six first-round selections, including top-10 choices JC Latham (IMG Academy, Bradenton), Michael Penix (Tampa Bay Tech, Tampa) and J.J. McCarthy (IMG Academy, Bradenton).
- Over the past seven NFL Drafts (2018-24), schools from Florida (216 total), Texas (206) and California (151) have had the most players selected.
- For the 18th time in the past 19 seasons, at least one player who attended high school outside of the United States was selected in the NFL Draft. The 2024 players selected: G Isaiah Adams (Ajax, Ontario, Canada), T Travis Clayton (Basingstoke, England), TE Theo Johnson (Windsor, Ontario, Canada), T Giovanni Manu (Pitt Meadows, British Columbia, Canada), TE Tanner McLachlan (Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada) and P Tory Taylor (Melbourne, Australia).
- Clayton – a member of the International Player Pathway (IPP) Program Class of 2024 and a former rugby player from England – is the third-ever IPP athlete to be drafted, joining Jordan Mailata (2018 NFL Draft, from Australia) and Mortiz Böhringer (2016 NFL Draft, from Germany).
For a state-by-state breakdown of all players selected in the 2024 NFL Draft, click here.