The General called me lazy. I deeply resemble that remark. No doubt, lists are easier than writing creatively, but we can’t all be Scipio, so I’ll continue to regurgitate data like HAL on acid.
As of 9/10/2009:
1) There were 1,696 active roster players in the NFL.
2) 37 of those 1,696 players are Texas Longhorns (in 2003, there were 18).
3) In 2003, there were 31 college teams with more active NFL talent. Today, there are two: LSU (41), Miami (41).
4) The most significant changes since 2003 are as follows: Texas +19, LSU +18—from 23 to 41, Ohio State +7 (29 to 36), USC +7 (28 to 35), OU +6 (16 to 22), Missouri +5 (5 to 10), Texas A&M -16 (33 to 17), Notre Dame -13 (from 41 to 28), Colorado -12 (26 to 14), Florida State -11 (39 to 28), Washington -11 (20 to 9), West Virginia -10 (20 to 10), Florida -9 (37 to 28), Syracuse -9 (20 to 11), Arizona State -8 (from 22 to 14), Stanford -8 (20 to 12), UCLA -8 (22 to 14), Kansas State -7 (from 22 to 15), Tennessee -6 (36 to 30), Kansas -5 (from 10 to 5), Nebraska -5 (28 to 23). Penn State -5 (29 to 24), Maryland moved up at least 6, but I don’t have their 2003 number. Purdue moved up at least 5. Virginia Tech moved up at least 4. Ole Miss moved up at least 3. Virginia moved up at least 3. I’d love to see how far Rutgers (they’re at 13 today), San Diego State (at 16 today), South Carolina (17 today), and Utah (15 today) have moved up.
5) 235 of those 1696 active roster players are rookies.
6) 3 of those 235 rookie players were Texas Longhorns.
7) 20 teams: USC (10), Georgia (6), Ohio State (6), LSU (5), Ole Miss (5), Oregon (5), Oregon State (5), Penn State (5), South Carolina (5), Virginia (5), Wisconsin (5), Alabama (4), Cincinnati (4), Clemson (4), Connecticut (4), Iowa (4), Maryland (4), Missouri (4), OU (4), Rutgers (4), have more rookies on active rosters in the NFL than the Texas Longhorns. I look at that as they lost more talent—expect more upsets.
8.) Of the 1,696 active roster players, 235 are rookies. 277 are 2nd-year players; 217 3rd; 216 4th; 160 5th; 127 6th; 122 7th; 90 8th; 76 9th; 59 10th; 39 11th; 26 12th; 21 13th; 12 14th; 6 15th; 7 16th; 1 17th; 2 18th; 1 19th, 1 20th, 1 22nd. Favre’s the most-experienced non-kicker (18). Anyone who can name the most experienced defensive player deserves many beers. He’s at 16 years—next-closest is at 14.
9) Is it possible there’s only one player left selected by the Oilers? That’s what my data says. 70 were initially signed by the Packers (the most of any team). The Lions and Texans are tied for lowest at 38.
10) The Colts originally signed 44 of the 53 players on their own active roster. The Lions originally signed only 22 of the players on their roster.
11) Of the 1,696 active roster players, 273 were 1st round draft picks. 233 were 2nd; 214 3rd; 191 4th; 140 5th; 136 6th; 132 7th; 1 8th (Got a guess?), and 376 were undrafted free agents.
12) Of those 376 undrafted free agents, 9 are from Georgia Tech. 7 are from San Diego State. Fresno State, Georgia, LSU, Maine, Maryland, UNC, and UCF each have 6.
13) Of the 273 1st-round picks, 22 were from Miami. 19 were from Ohio State. 13 were from Texas. 11 were from Florida State, and 11 were from USC. 10 were from LSU.
14) I’m thrilled to see that Mike Williams, Jon Scott, and Quan Cosby made active rosters. I’m surprised to see that both Derek Lokey & Henry Melton ended up on IR, and that Nate Jones & Chris Ogbonnaya both ended up on the Rams’ practice squad. Tim Crowder, Brandon Foster, DD Lewis, Richmond McGee, Rod Wright, and Selvin Young are, for now, out of the NFL. Cedric Dockery lasted only a week, which surprised me.
15) I just watched Harrison rip Bo Scaife’s knee up. I hate Harrison.