http://thedailyviz.com/2012/04/19/mapping-the-nfl-where-do-its-players-come-from/ But the map changes when state population is figured in. This map shows the rate of NFL players based on the 2010 population. Louisiana and Mississippi, which rank 25th and 31st in population, respectively, send more players per-person to the NFL than other states: Of course, I should have used the male population, but there’s only so much time in my lunch break — and the maps wouldn’t look significantly different.
A side note to this... A few years ago our staff made a decision to shy away from recruiting the state of Mississippi as heavily as previous coaching staffs have. The main reason was academics. With the cap of 25 signees in place it's just too much of a risk to take a chance on kids out of that state...despite their talent.
Mississippi NFL Standouts 1. Brett Farve 2. Eli Manning (Ole Miss) 3. Jerry Rice 4. Archie Manning (a Heisman winner unrecognized) 5. Deuce McCalister 6. Marcus Dupree (the greatest SEC runner ever) 7. BenJarvus Green-Ellis
How many of those played in Mississippi versus being brought up in the Mississippi school system? If I recall correctly, Jerry Rice didn't qualify, did he? He attended a D2 school? Marcus Dupree didn't play in the SEC. He was at OU under Switzer. Green-Ellis is from New Orleans and the Mannings aren't in the MS school system either. As I think about this...Deuce is the only person out of the seven you've mentioned that came through that system.
You took Lacy, and he wasn't even able to graduate high school on time. The only two teams that decided to stick with him as such a huge academic risk were Bama and Tennessee As for Mississippi, they have good schools and bad schools. Ridley for ex went to a small episcopal school. But even if a kid is from a bad school, that doesn't mean he's a bad student
Which has what to do with the post of mine you quoted? Lacy went to Dutchtown in Geismar...a city and school in Louisiana. Wasn't able to graduate on time? He attended summer workouts at Bama with his high school diploma. Hell, the kid was a double major in engineering and computer science. LSU slow played him and lost in the end.
I used Forbes name because I was told it was from FORBES MAG. I posted it because I'm proud of Louisiana & Mississippi for this achievement. I understood this LINK to be FORBES if I was incorrect I apologize and will gladly delete the post.I've always felt Louisiana & Mississippi to be superior in athletics. As regards Mississippi athletes academics? I understood the state of Mississippi had upgraded its scolastic standard quite a bit. [Matt Stiles - The Daily Viz (listed online source of article / survey) A data journalist at NPR. I try each day to create a data visualization, or I post those I find online. Let me know if you have ideas for future visualizations. Contact me: mattstiles at gmail.]
