[Remy74]

[quote author=cardcrimson link=topic=18696.msg223348#msg223348 date=1518025274]
Is high school football that much better in the South? What makes football in Florida so great? This year, 9 of the 33 five star players on Rivals are from Florida, with another 5 from Georgia. California does have 5, North Carolina and Texas have 2, and no other state has more than 1.

Each year, it seems that the South is the mecca for talent. Is that really the case? Thoughts? Theories? Does Jimmy the Greek's inebriated hypothesis all those years ago actually hold water?

The South being a mecca for talent isn't just recruiting hype, it is borne out by the numbers of FBS starters, FBS All Americans, NFL draftees, NFL players, etc. Probably a number of contributing factors, but primarily due to football in the south being so culturally significant and players getting involved in organized football with coaching from a very young age.
[/quote]

Interesting article linked below that details which states produce the most NFL players based on when babies are born to when they mature to the age of being NFL players.  I think if it were mostly a product of getting involved in organized football at a young age, there would not be a cluster of states in the Southeast that seem to produce NFL talent at a rate higher than other states as I would think that Texas would rank higher than 11th in terms of per capita production. 

http://www.cleveland.com/datacentral/index.ssf/2017/09/florida_georgia_lead_new_ranki.html

You can compare the demographics of the top rated per capita states to other states to assess the aforementioned hypothesis. 

[Remy74]

[quote author=cardcrimson link=topic=18696.msg223348#msg223348 date=1518025274]
Is high school football that much better in the South? What makes football in Florida so great? This year, 9 of the 33 five star players on Rivals are from Florida, with another 5 from Georgia. California does have 5, North Carolina and Texas have 2, and no other state has more than 1.

Each year, it seems that the South is the mecca for talent. Is that really the case? Thoughts? Theories? Does Jimmy the Greek's inebriated hypothesis all those years ago actually hold water?

The South being a mecca for talent isn't just recruiting hype, it is borne out by the numbers of FBS starters, FBS All Americans, NFL draftees, NFL players, etc. Probably a number of contributing factors, but primarily due to football in the south being so culturally significant and players getting involved in organized football with coaching from a very young age.
[/quote]

Interesting article linked below that details which states produce the most NFL players based on when babies are born to when they mature to the age of being NFL players.  I think if it were mostly a product of getting involved in organized football at a young age, there would not be a cluster of states in the Southeast that seem to produce NFL talent at a rate higher than other states as I would think that Texas would rank higher than 11th in terms of per capita production. 

http://www.cleveland.com/datacentral/index.ssf/2017/09/florida_georgia_lead_new_ranki.html

You can compare the demographics of the top rated per capita states to other states to assess the aforementioned hypothesis.