A Guest Post by Editor Neil White

In researching, Mississippi’s 100 Greatest Football Players of All Time, we discovered some fascinating statistics. Consider this about our state:

• 588 native-born Mississippians have played professional football

• 726 professional players attended Mississippi institutions of higher learning.

Here’s the breakdown:

No. of NFL Players by College or University

University of Mississippi 181

Mississippi State 127

University of Southern Mississippi 97

Jackson State University 89

Alcorn State University 51

Mississippi Valley State University 26

Delta State University 8

Mississippi College 7

Millsaps 2

Rust College 1

Mississippi’s Community College System 137

 Total 726

Defensive Back for the Detroit Lions Lem Barney (20) in action, returning punt vs Cincinnati Bengals Ron Lamb (40). 9/27/1970 (Photo by Walter Iooss Jr. /Sports Illustrated/Getty Images)

Breakdown by position:

Receiver/Tight Ends 18

Running Backs 14

Defensive Backs 14

Quarterbacks 12

Defensive Linemen 11

Offensive Linemen 10

Linebackers 8

Special Teams Players 6

Played both ways 3

Breakdown by colleges/universities

Green Bay Packers QB Brett Favre (4) sitting on bench at Don Hutson Center. Cover Photograph for Sportsman of the Year. Green Bay, WI 11/26/2007

University of Mississippi 33

Mississippi State 14

Jackson State 14

U. of Southern Mississippi 9

Alcorn State 4

Mississippi Valley State 4

Jones County Jr. College 1

Itawamba Community College 1

Mississippi College 1

Out-of-state Colleges 19

*

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Chicago Bears Hall of Fame running back Walter Payton (34) flies into the endzone for a one-yard touchdwon during a 20-10 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on November 1, 1981, at Tampa Stadium in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Sylvia Allen/Getty Images)

Breakdown by race:

African American 58

Caucasian 42

 See the complete list in Mississippi’s 100 Greatest Footbal Palyers of All Time, Nautilus Publishing, Nov. 2011

Neil White, Editor

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