Detroit, MI. Everyone that knows sports knows the Detroit Michigan area is one of the largest in the nation at producing great athletes, especially at the pro level. But in week one in the NFL Detroit had 19 players representing the D as it is called, the most of any city in America.
And it was the city of Detroit, not the suburbs, that had the high school alumni suiting up. Bradenton, Florida was second with 17 players in large part due to IMG Academy being in their town. IMG recruits from all over the country and is known as a “football factory”. But the NFL players from Detroit are 100% from Detroit! Houston, Texas was third with 16 players.
Detroit has had many natives representing them in the NFL over the years, such as Thomas “Pepper” Johnson (Detroit Mackenzie) who won two Super Bowls as an all-pro linebacker with the New York Giants. Other great Detroit-born and bred football stars that made it to the big time include Reggie McKenzie (Highland Park), Nick Perry (Detroit Mckenzie/King), Louis Sharpe (Detroit Southwestern), Bill Yearby (Detroit Eastern), John Kelly (Oak Park), and of course, the great Jerome Bettis, who before winning a Super Bowl with the Pittsburgh Steelers and having a hall of fame career rushed for 1,335 yards and 14 touchdowns at Detroit Mackenzie.
Detroit football has a great reputation for being tough and gritty as well as the city itself. Detroit is really struggling with the horrible economy and is considered the poorest city in America right now with 40% of its residents and 57% of children under 18 living below the poverty level.
There are many people struggling in Detroit and sometimes sports is the only way out for their athletes, and in many cases can be the only way some people will be able to go to and afford college with a scholarship.
There has been recent growth in Michigan High Schools with kids participating in sports with Michigan ranking 10th in the nation. And many of those kids come from the City of Detroit, which is still the largest city in Michigan with a population of just over 632,000 which is down from its highest level of 1.8 million.
Detroit is a hotbed of college recruiting with many big Division 1 colleges recruiting heavily there such as Ohio State, Penn State, Kentucky, Tennessee, as well as instate school Michigan State.
In total, eight Detroit high schools have players currently in the NFL: Allen Academy, Cass Tech, Crockett Tech, East English Village, King, Renaissance, Southeastern Tech, and Voyageur College Prep.
Despite Detroit’s dominance, the rest of Michigan is not as prolific in getting high school players to the NFL. Michigan ranks 10th with 51 players suiting up, in Week 1, well behind Texas, at 187 NFL players, Florida (178) and California (173).
But no matter what, when you are in the D on a Friday night, you’ll see those stadium lights shining bright and those stadiums full of loyal fans cheering their hearts out and hoping for the best.