Best state in the south for football at all levels (high school, college, pro)? (1 Viewer)

[tdbush25]

It has to be OKC! Being serious I voted for Louisiana because of the rich history of great players born here(Mississippi your not far behind) , all the great
high school programs like John Curtis and Notre Dame, LSU is one of the top programs in the country, and you can't forget our 6-2 Saints!

 

[TPS]

>>Let's face it, Louisiana has LSU and the Saints - who I like both teams, but given the population differences, it's hard to make a case for picking Louisiana given the poll question.

True. But it doesn't just mean the teams themselves. I think per capita, it'd be hard to find another relatively small state that has produced the football (and indeed sports talent in general) players this state has. In some cases, it's just guys that have gone to college here. In others, it's players farmed out from biddy and Dixie Youth (my kids never played football, so I'm not sure if they use that classifcation or something else), but there are just so many former and current players with ties to Louisiana that are at the top of the game. JMO

Mississippi is a great state for high school and college football even though the only real success of late has been out of the SWAC. Alabama has UAB, the Crimson Tide, and Auburn. Texas has massive population, but outside of the Longhorn's title and the 4 the Cowboys have achieved under Troy Aikman, I think they're a bit overrated. To counter that argument though, you have to consider Drew Brees.

TPS

 

[All The Way]

Florida and Texas both have goulashes more people than Louisiana. Texas is over rated yes but still having lived in both Texas and Louisiana I'd have to say Texas is more of a football state than Louisiana. However, the Saints could be changing things soon.

 

[bclemms]

Why is Florida so high on everyones list? It is a miserable year to be a Florida football fan. Dolphins stink, Tampa stinks, Miami stinks, Florida State stinks, Jacksonville and Florida are the only bright spots and Jacksonville doesn't have a whole lot of support. The high school programs are good but they only have 2 teams in the top 25, the same as Texas and La. They have a whole lot of quantity and very little quality.

Ms and La have the best athletes per capita but Ms doesn't have a pro team and all of their college teams are horrible and have been for quite some time.

Texas has two high school teams in the top 25, two colleges in the top 25 including one that won the national title last year and ranked in the top 5 now (hopefully not for long). They have two pro teams, one of which has a bunch of rings, the other is still pretty new.

La has two top 25 high school teams and a couple others that are knocking on the door. They have a college team in the top 15 likely to climb in the top 10 after tonight. They have a pro team that is tied for 2nd in the NFC in wins.

IMO it is between Tx and La. I give the nod to Texas but comparing a state with 25 million people and a state with 3 million people is a little unfair. Per capita it is easily La.

Even if you don't consider population I can't say La would be a bad choice over Tx. Florida could make a case because they have so many quality college teams but Miami, Florida and Florida State have not been that good the past few years, the Dolphins have not won a playoff game since 2000, Jacksonville hasn't won a playoff game since 1999 and the Bucs haven't won a playoff game since their Super Bowl win. In college the Florida teams have not won a national title since 2001. Now in the late 80's-early 90's there was no doubt which state had the king of football title. Florida produced 8 natianal championships in 11 years, the Dolphins led by Dan Marino were very similar to the Colts today and the high school programs had dozens of teams that could be talked about for top 25 consideration every single year.

Of these three states only one has a college national championship, NFL playoff win and a top ranked High School team since 2000 is La.

 

[Mr. Blue Sky]

TPS, I know you meant well, but you really need to do three seperate polls for high school, college and pro to get an accurate read; they're all so distinct and some states are good on one level but not so much on another (MS comes to mind- great high school programs, no pro ball.) As for my opinion, I'd say that Louisiana PER CAPITA has the best high school football- LA always finishes #3 in national surveys re. talent, recruited athletes, big time programs etc. to Texas and Florida, but if you remove population from the equation LA is far and away the best... As for college, I guess you have to give the edge to AL for having two consistently good programs (Alabama & Auburn) in a sparsely populated state. Plus, even as an LSU guy, I can admit that Bear Bryant is right up there with Elvis and Bill Clinton as favorite sons of the South and while driving through Alabama as a kid on the way to Florida, I got the impression he was on the same level as Jesus Christ himself, what with all the portraits and monuments to him along the way. As for pro- gotta go with FL. The Dolphins and Bucs have titles between them, something no other Southern state can claim (I don't count Texas because 1) It isn't in the South and 2) the Cowboys have ALWAYS been overhyped and overrated and never as good as their supporters would have you believe.)

 

[draftfreak]

It's a disgrace to not say Texas. I'm from Louisiana and football is good there, but no where near as good as Texas. For that matter Florida and Georgia are better too. If Alabama had a pro team, they'd be better. Alabama high school and college ball is as good as anywhere. Texas is the best in the country for high school talent, no question.

 

[crosswatt]

There used to be a Florida vs Rest of the country allstar game each year. That right there answers the question for me.

 

[tenordas]

I know I'm from Texas (hey, I'm also from Louisiana, Oklahoma, and NewJersey!), so I'll be figured as biased, but Texas seems to supply more Universities than any other state. Look around the country and you'll find guys from Texas. Every year there are more starters for OU from Texas than from Oklahoma. LSU has farmed many a good player from Texas as well, and I see starters on college teams all over the country coming from Texas. Hey, high school footbal is almost a religion in this state. We have a high school stadium practically across the street from us here and it has UPPER DECKS! - and they always have people in them! People around here are nuts for footbal, so it shouldn't be any surprise so many kids come out of the state able to be impact players on colleges all over the country.
Florida is probably a close second, however.

 

[saintheart]

FWIW the NFL gave out an award to Mississippi this year as the top football state in the country http://www.usafootball.com/press-box/press/index.php?&id=45
I know there are some good programs in all of the states, but I would love to see the top high schools in any state play against the South Panola Tigers. If Mississippi colleges would do a better job of recruiting the top players in our home state, the SEC standings would look alot different.

I agree,I grew up a Vicksburg Gator and saw some fantastic MS footbal.OLE MISS is where Archie,Eli and Deuce went,Archie being a native,Joe Horn went to Itawamba.Brett Favre at USM.Steve Mcnair at Alcorn to name a few.

 

[CHI-TOWNSAINT]

I would put the Saints against any team right now!

I would put LSU against any team right now!

I would put John Curtis against any team right now!


Louisiana!

 

[THAJCODE]

Trolling at its worst

 

[Mr. Blue Sky]

I would put the Saints against any team right now!

I would put LSU against any team right now!

I would put John Curtis against any team right now!


Louisiana!

...Excellent point- RIGHT NOW, La. would have to be in 1st place....

 

[Saint Greg]

I always hear about how seriously they take their football in Texas. But the four years I lived in Abilene, I really didn't feel it. Maybe it's because they only had two high schools there where we have like 15 in Shreveport/Bossier.

I've known people from other states who have come here in the military and said they would want there kids to go to school in Louisiana just for the reputation we have for football. I'd put our talent up against any other state. Although I'm sure Texas and Florida have bigger numbers just because they have a bigger population. I'm not sure what it is now, but a few years ago I counted 23 quarterbacks on NFL rosters that either went to high school or college in Louisiana.....An amazing number considering there are only 60 or so quarterbacks in the NFL.

Edit: Another thing I've thought of when it comes to high schools. I'm not sure how it is in the rest of Texas, but Abilene has 2 high schools and a population of 115,000. Bossier Parish has 5 high schools and a population of 105,000. Perhaps if we combined our schools to be more in line with other states, we would have more nationally ranked teams. As it is the only national powerhouse we get in this area is a private school that steals....errr....recruits players from other districts.

 

[babyblack94]

Mississippi!!!!!

 

[DeuceisaBEAST!]

Mississippi!!!!!

I don't think so. Louisiana!!!!

 

[gumbeau]

Population excuse extremely lame.

Texas 22,000,000 Size of France. That means lots of schools with smaller pools to draw from.

Florida 17,000,000 Less than a quarter of the land area as Texas with only a 15% percent less population. Big schools, big talent pools.