Utah is producing NFL talent at one of the highest rates in the nation, according to new research on NFL player origins.
A study by Ted Goudge of Northwest Missouri State University determined each state’s NFL player origins per capita rate for 2023 using data on where current NFL players went to high school and found that Utah tied with Maryland for the seventh-highest mark in the country at 1.39.
What that 1.39 figure means is that there is one NFL player per 103,568 people — roughly the same population as St. George — in the state of Utah.
There are currently 34 active NFL players from 21 different Utah high schools, according to Pro Football Reference. The state has sent 183 total players from 60 schools to the league over the course of its history.
Utah trails only Georgia (2.62), Louisiana (2.59), Alabama (2.30), Mississippi (2.24), Florida (1.64) and South Carolina (1.46) in the study, while ranking ahead of states such as Texas (1.29), California (0.83), North Carolina (1.14) and Ohio (1.22).
Notable Utah natives in the NFL include Puka Nacua (Orem) of the Los Angeles Rams, Penei Sewell (Deseret Hills) of the Detroit Lions, Zach Wilson (Corner Canyon) of the New York Jets, Dalton Schultz (Bingham) of the Houston Texans, Julian Blackmon (Layton) of the Indianapolis Colts and Cody Barton (Brighton) of the Washington Commanders.
Bingham, Brighton, Orem, Deseret Hills and Herriman tie in terms of the number of former players who are currently in the NFL. Each school has three.