Illinois prep football on the upswing?

[olderbytheminute]

This is just a list of how many gridders who played high school ball in Illinois have been drafted by an nfl team in recent years. Yes, there's a difference between being the first guy picked and the Mr. Irrelevant pick, but this is just numbers.
2023 (last month) --- 12 Illinois preps were picked in. 7 rounds. Florida (36), Texas (33), Georgia (23) and California (21) were top four states.
2022 --- 6 Illinois preps were picked. Texas (32),Georgia (30), California (22) and Florida (21) were the top four.,
2021 ---Note: this was draft after season was covid-19'd. 3 Illinois preps were picked. Florida (37), Texas (33), Georgia (21) and California (19) were the top four.
2020 --- 4 Illinois preps were picked. Texas (33), California (23), Florida (22) and Georgia (21) were the top four.
2019 --- 9 Illinois preps were picked.Florida (34), Texas (27), California (22) and Ohio (14) were the top four.
2018 --- 5 Illinois preps were picked. Florida (36), Texas (28), California (27) and Virginia (15) were top four.

And while none of us are even remotely shocked that Florida, Texas, California and Georgia are the country's football hotbeds, There's not exactly a 1-to-1 relationship between state population and number of high school football players drafted in any given year.
If you're scoring at home, in these past six years, New York has consistently been the second-most populous state in the USA. In that span, an even dozen New York high school grads were drafted by an NFL team.

 

[USD24]

This is just a list of how many gridders who played high school ball in Illinois have been drafted by an nfl team in recent years. Yes, there's a difference between being the first guy picked and the Mr. Irrelevant pick, but this is just numbers.
2023 (last month) --- 12 Illinois preps were picked in. 7 rounds. Florida (36), Texas (33), Georgia (23) and California (21) were top four states.
2022 --- 6 Illinois preps were picked. Texas (32),Georgia (30), California (22) and Florida (21) were the top four.,
2021 ---Note: this was draft after season was covid-19'd. 3 Illinois preps were picked. Florida (37), Texas (33), Georgia (21) and California (19) were the top four.
2020 --- 4 Illinois preps were picked. Texas (33), California (23), Florida (22) and Georgia (21) were the top four.
2019 --- 9 Illinois preps were picked.Florida (34), Texas (27), California (22) and Ohio (14) were the top four.
2018 --- 5 Illinois preps were picked. Florida (36), Texas (28), California (27) and Virginia (15) were top four.

And while none of us are even remotely shocked that Florida, Texas, California and Georgia are the country's football hotbeds, There's not exactly a 1-to-1 relationship between state population and number of high school football players drafted in any given year.
If you're scoring at home, in these past six years, New York has consistently been the second-most populous state in the USA. In that span, an even dozen New York high school grads were drafted by an NFL team.

Isnt New York the 4th most populous state in the USA, behind California, Texas and Florida?

 

[whitesox05]

Isnt New York the 4th most populous state in the USA, behind California, Texas and Florida?

Yes

 

[epicbret]

New York isn't a football state, pro yes, but not prep.

Hockey and lacrosse are bigger outside the metro and basketball is king in the metro.

NJ is more of the football state.

Compare us to OH and PA, that's who we hearken to. We also get crushed I'm sure.

 

[mc140]

We live in a basketball state.

 

[colin2229]

Interesting data. Thanks for sharing.

 

[pjjp]

We live in a basketball state.

Doesn't seem as if IL has been producing the high level basketball players it once did. Of course, part of that is top guys transferring to prep schools out of state.

 

[mc140]

Doesn't seem as if IL has been producing the high level basketball players it once did. Of course, part of that is top guys transferring to prep schools out of state.

You can walk into most gyms in the Chicago area on a Friday night in the winter and find multiple forwards/centers between 6'2-6'4 that have zero interest in football and are also going no higher than D3 in basketball due to their size.

 

[pjjp]

You can walk into most gyms in the Chicago area on a Friday night in the winter and find multiple forwards/centers between 6'2-6'4 that have zero interest in football and are also going no higher than D3 in basketball due to their size.

No doubt.

 

[epicbret]

You can walk into most gyms in the Chicago area on a Friday night in the winter and find multiple forwards/centers between 6'2-6'4 that have zero interest in football and are also going no higher than D3 in basketball due to their size.

It's improper allocation, the Chicago way.

 

[Cross Bones]

I know we had a couple P5 DT types 6'3-6'5 bull in a China shop guys on basketball who went D3 and Juco instead. I used to imagine the football plays during basketball games.