For a select few NCAA athletes, after their collegiate playing days are over, NFL Sundays call. And with the arrival of September, those Sundays are back.
Final 53-man rosters were announced for the start of the 2018-19 NFL season, and among the 32 NFL teams, there are almost 1,700 players on roster. Almost all started at an NCAA school.
About 86 percent (1,460 players) of them come from FBS teams. But which team has sent the most of its athletes to the NFL?
RELATED: Former DII football players on 2018 NFL rosters
(Disclaimer: this list only highlights players on 53-man rosters as of Sept. 6. It does not include players on the injury reserved lists, practice squads, or commissioner’s exempt list).
That’d be Alabama. The Crimson Tide have 44 players spread across 24 teams, including four 2018 first-round picks in Minkah Fitzpatrick (Miami Dolphins), Da’Ron Payne (Washington Redskins), Rashaan Evans (Tennessee Titans), and Calvin Ridley (Atlanta Falcons). Ridley will be playing alongside All-Pro wide receiver Julio Jones, who had 1,133 receiving yards for the Crimson Tide in 2010.
Close behind Alabama is LSU, with 40 Tigers on 26 teams to start the season. The Tigers have churned out stars like Odell Beckham Jr. (New York Giants), Jarvis Landry (Cleveland Browns), Leonard Fournette (Jacksonville Jaguars), Tyrann Mathieu (Houston Texans), and Patrick Peterson (Arizona Cardinals).
Third in the rankings is Florida, which boasts 38 players on 23 teams. That includes both Pouncey brothers, Maurkice (Pittsburgh Steelers), and Mike (Los Angeles Chargers) — who won a title with the Gators in 2008.
If you’ve been paying attention, you’d notice that the top three teams all hail from the same conference: the SEC.
The SEC leads all conferences with 335 players on active NFL rosters — 96 more than the next conference. Here’s every FBS conference ranked:
| Conference | Players ON NFL ROSTERS |
|---|---|
| SEC | 335 |
| Big Ten | 239 |
| ACC | 228 |
| Pac-12 | 210 |
| Big 12 | 123 |
| American | 100 |
| Mountain West | 63 |
| C-USA | 63 |
| Independent | 40 |
| MAC | 39 |
| Sun Belt | 20 |
Wondering where your school falls on the list?
Here is the full ranking of FBS schools with players on NFL 53-man rosters:
| Rank | FBS school | Players |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alabama | 44 |
| 2 | LSU | 40 |
| 3 | Florida | 38 |
| 4 | Miami | 36 |
| 4 | Ohio State | 36 |
| 6 | Florida State | 33 |
| 7 | Southern Cal | 32 |
| 8 | Clemson | 29 |
| 9 | Auburn | 28 |
| 9 | Georgia | 28 |
| 11 | Stanford | 27 |
| 11 | UCLA | 27 |
| 11 | Tennessee | 27 |
| 14 | Michigan | 26 |
| 14 | Notre Dame | 26 |
| 16 | Iowa | 25 |
| 17 | Texas | 24 |
| 17 | Penn State | 24 |
| 17 | Texas A&M | 24 |
| 20 | Oklahoma | 23 |
| 21 | Wisconsin | 22 |
| 21 | California | 22 |
| 21 | Washington | 22 |
| 21 | Mississippi | 22 |
| 21 | South Carolina | 22 |
| 26 | Nebraska | 19 |
| 26 | Oregon | 19 |
| 28 | North Carolina | 18 |
| 29 | Pittsburgh | 17 |
| 29 | Michigan State | 17 |
| 29 | Mississippi State | 17 |
| 32 | North Carolina State | 16 |
| 32 | Missouri | 16 |
| 34 | Louisville | 15 |
| 34 | Central Florida | 15 |
| 36 | Virginia Tech | 14 |
| 36 | Temple | 14 |
| 36 | West Virginia | 14 |
| 36 | Utah | 14 |
| 40 | SMU | 13 |
| 40 | TCU | 13 |
| 40 | Texas Tech | 13 |
| 40 | Rutgers | 13 |
| 40 | Boise State | 13 |
| 40 | Arkansas | 13 |
| 46 | Cincinnati | 12 |
| 46 | Illinois | 12 |
| 46 | Colorado | 12 |
| 46 | Oregon State | 12 |
| 50 | Boston College | 11 |
| 50 | Virginia | 11 |
| 50 | Oklahoma State | 11 |
| 53 | Memphis | 10 |
| 53 | South Florida | 10 |
| 53 | Kansas State | 10 |
| 53 | Maryland | 10 |
| 53 | Purdue | 10 |
| 53 | Louisiana Tech | 10 |
| 53 | Southern Mississippi | 10 |
| 53 | Arizona State | 10 |
| 61 | Georgia Tech | 9 |
| 61 | Baylor | 9 |
| 61 | Indiana | 9 |
| 61 | Northwestern | 9 |
| 61 | Central Michigan | 9 |
| 66 | Rice | 8 |
| 66 | Utah State | 8 |
| 66 | Arizona | 8 |
| 66 | Kentucky | 8 |
| 66 | Vanderbilt | 8 |
| 71 | Duke | 7 |
| 71 | Wake Forest | 7 |
| 71 | Connecticut | 7 |
| 71 | Houston | 7 |
| 71 | Minnesota | 7 |
| 71 | Western Kentucky | 7 |
| 71 | BYU | 7 |
| 71 | Toledo | 7 |
| 71 | Fresno State | 7 |
| 71 | San Jose State | 7 |
| 81 | Tulane | 6 |
| 81 | Wyoming | 6 |
| 83 | Syracuse | 5 |
| 83 | Florida Atlantic | 5 |
| 83 | Middle Tennessee | 5 |
| 83 | Colorado State | 5 |
| 83 | Nevada | 5 |
| 83 | Washington State | 5 |
| 83 | Appalachian State | 5 |
| 90 | East Carolina | 4 |
| 90 | Kansas | 4 |
| 90 | Marshall | 4 |
| 90 | Old Dominion | 4 |
| 90 | Kent State | 4 |
| 90 | Northern Illinois | 4 |
| 90 | Western Michigan | 4 |
| 90 | New Mexico | 4 |
| 90 | San Diego State | 4 |
| 99 | UTEP | 3 |
| 99 | Massachusetts | 3 |
| 99 | Eastern Michigan | 3 |
| 99 | Ohio | 3 |
| 99 | Texas State | 3 |
| 99 | Troy | 3 |
| 105 | Iowa State | 2 |
| 105 | Florida International | 2 |
| 105 | North Texas | 2 |
| 105 | UAB | 2 |
| 105 | New Mexico State | 2 |
| 105 | Buffalo | 2 |
| 105 | Miami - OH | 2 |
| 105 | Hawaii | 2 |
| 105 | Coastal Carolina | 2 |
| 105 | Georgia Southern | 2 |
| 105 | Georgia State | 2 |
| 116 | Navy | 1 |
| 116 | Tulsa | 1 |
| 116 | Charlotte | 1 |
| 116 | Army | 1 |
| 116 | Liberty | 1 |
| 116 | Ball State | 1 |
| 116 | Air Force | 1 |
| 116 | UNLV | 1 |
| 116 | Arkansas State | 1 |
| 116 | Louisiana-Lafayette | 1 |
| 116 | South Alabama | 1 |
