USA Football: Two Hish Schools Shzu'e Lead for Most NFL Plavers: California Leads A1... Paee I of 3

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Two HEEh SchcoBs Shane Lemd fsx" Mose hgFL Fffayens;eatifonmla l-eads ANE States; Ft,l5am?fi Teps ffiomnetowsrsAuttuon: USA Football StafftrerhEisFaedr September 27, 2A07

Two California high sclrools - De La Salle in Concord and Long Beach Polytechnic in L,ong Beach-- top the list of high schools with the most 2007 NFL players with six each,

The totals are based on the 1,693-man 2007 NFL Kickoff Weekend rosters (Septenrber 6, 9-10).

NFL players from Kickoff rosters hail from 1,384 high schools in 48 states and the District afColumbia, three foreign countries and one U,S. territory (American Samoa).

Two higlt schools - DeMatha Catholic in Hyattsville, Maryland and Dillard in Fort Lauderdale,Florida - had five players apiece on Kickoff rosters.

De La Salle, Dillard and Long Beach Poly have traditionally been among the annual leaders inNFL alumni. This is the first time that DeMatha Catholic has had players in the top twopositions since 1998, when NFL high school rosters lvere first computed.

The NFL players from the most productive schools have fond memories of their high schooldays, and respect for how the schools'football programs are run:

' JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS QB QUiNN GRAY (Dillard): "The big thing about going to Dillardwas the tradition. It started back when my dad was a coach there from 1979-90. He started a

real tradition as far as winning football games and excellence in the classroom. It was apleasure to go to the school and be a member of the football team at Dillard. You had guyslike ISAAC BRUCE, CHRIS GAMBLE and people like that who played there, The traditioncontinues because you have guys coming out of there now going to college and then to theNFL, They will continue to do that."

. CLEVELAND BROWNS LB WILLIE MC GINEST (Long Beach Poly): "Long Beach Poly means a

lot to me. The school is a melting pot of ethnicity, and you not only got a great education, butyou also learned about life. The coaches and administrators made sure you focused on yourschoolwork, It is not a surprise to me that so many people who went to Poly have gone on todo great things. They prepare you for the next phase of your life."

" NEW YORK GIANTS WR AMANi TOOMER (De La Salle): "The thing i learned from high schoolfootball was the focus it takes to be successful. We had a very successful run at De La Salleand what I remember most about it was that everybody was really focused about playing everyweek. It was just a good feeling that you knew the guy next to you was going to try hishardest to be the best and you could trust him, The other thing that was great was workingwith a coaching staff that consisted of really good people -- people who really wanted you to dowell. It's just a good feeling to have their support and have people behind you who want to

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USA Football: Two Hieh schools Share Lead for klost NFI- Players; California Leads A1... Fage 2 of 3

get the best out of Yotl."

. PHILADELPHIA EAGLES RB BRIAN WESTBROOK (DeMatha): "My high school coach (wILLIAM

lvlc GREGOR II, the 2004 NFL High School Coach of the Year) continues to be an inspiration

and source of st"tppott for me."

HIGH SCHOOLS WITH MOST NFL PLAYERS

Two high schools have five players each:

Sixteen high schools have four players each in the NFL this year. Twenty-nine high schools

boast three NFLers, while 185 schools have two players:

High School, Totv n,State

\umber \FL Players

De La Salle, Concord6

lMatt Gutierrez, NE; Maurice Jones-Drew, JAX; Derek Landri

IJRX; nmani Toomer, NYG; Demetrius Williams, BLT; D,JI

lWilliams, DEN

Long a"u.rtlPolytechnic, LonglBeach, CA 'lEI

lWinston lustice, PHI; Marcedes Lewis, IAX; Willie lvlcGinest,

ICLV; Santie Parker, KC; Pago Togafau, PHI; Manuel Wright,llV Y tt

-{igh

itateSchool, Town

Nunr ber N FL Players

DeMatha Catholic,Hvattsville, MD

5Jacob Bender, NYJ; Quinn Ojinnaka, ATL; John Owens, NO;

Brian Westbrook, PHI; losh Wilson' SEA

Dillard, Ft. Lauderdale,FL

5Isaac Bruce, 5L; Chris Gamble, CAR; Quinn Gray, JAX;

Jovan Haye, TB; Stanley Mqclouer, Cnn

School, Town, State

n-Parkersburq, Parkersburg, IA

anche Ely, Pompano Beach, FL

nshaw. Los Angeles, CA

Glades Central, Belle Glade, FL

ville, Cleveland, OH

d East, St, Louis, lvlO

Lower Richland, Hopkins, SC

Miami, Miami, FL

Miami Beach, Miami Beach, FL

orland, Miami, FL

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USA Football: Two Hieh Schools Share Lead for Most NFI- Plavers; California Leads Al .. Paee 3 of 3

HOME STATES: California toppedfollowed by Texas (184) and Florida

the list of states with most( 178);

NFL players in 2AO7 (209),

State NFL Plavers State IINFL Plavers

Salifornia 209 /irginia Ilsqt-'

fexas 184 Alabama 51

:lorida 178 Michiqan +9

Shio )2 rennsylvania +9

3eorgia 77 Illinois +3

Louisiana 77 lvlississiooi 13

South Carolina 53 \orth Caroline +3

HOMETOWNS: Miami, Florida heads the list of hometowns with the most NFL players (37),followed by Houston (32), Detroit, Los Angeles and San Diego (13 each).

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