College football rankings: Top 25 teams re-ranked by number of NFL players in 2023
College football is a spectacle unto itself but the end goal for just about every player who suits up in college is to make it to the NFL. The programs that make a habit of getting them there have a huge edge.
So while it doesn't strictly matter who has the most players in the NFL when it comes to winning in 2023, these are bragging rights that do matter when it comes to recruiting.
Now that NFL rosters have been set, who has the most active pro alumni*?
*As determined by the NCAA's official tally, which includes players on active rosters as of Sept. 4. It does not include players on injury reserve, practice squads or the commissioner’s exempt list.
College football rankings by number of NFL players in 2023
Rank | Team | # of NFL Players |
|---|---|---|
1. | Alabama [AP Rank: 3] | 57 |
2. | Georgia [1] | 49 |
3. | Ohio State [5] | 48 |
4. | LSU [14] | 43 |
5. | Michigan [2] | 38 |
6. | Clemson [25] | 37 |
7. | Penn State [7] | 34 |
Notre Dame [10] | 34 | |
9. | Oklahoma [18] | 32 |
10. | Texas [11] | 30 |
11. | USC [6] | 27 |
Washington [8] | 27 | |
13. | Oregon [13] | 25 |
14. | Ole Miss [20] | 23 |
Texas A&M [23] | 23 | |
16. | Tennessee [9] | 21 |
Wisconsin [19] | 21 | |
18. | Florida State [4] | 16 |
North Carolina [17] | 16 | |
20. | Utah [12] | 15 |
21. | Kansas State [15] | 12 |
22. | Oregon State [16] | 10 |
Duke [21] | 10 | |
24. | Colorado [22] | 7 |
25. | Tulane [24] | 1 |
It's no surprise to see Alabama and Georgia out front in terms of producing NFL talent but Ohio State and Michigan are also representing the Big Ten strongly.
LSU and Clemson may have lost too much talent to the NFL based on the way their 2023 seasons started with blowout losses to Florida State and Duke respectively. The most impressive thing about Nick Saban, Kirby Smart, Ryan Day and Jim Harbaugh is how they've been able to reload their rosters year in and year out.
Oklahoma and Texas are leading the Big 12 in NFL players but the Sooners have the narrow edge.
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Over in the Pac-12, USC and Washington are neck-and-neck, much like the Pac-12 title race in 2023 figures to be.
Meanwhile, the Seminoles are working hard to build back into an NFL factory but they have work to do on that front as the only Top 5 team without a great quantity of pro representation.
Colorado is also working from the bottom as a newly-minted ranked squad. The way Deion Sanders has recruited, the seven current NFL Buffaloes will have more company soon enough.
The top unranked team with high NFL production is Florida with 35 pros. Iowa, which dropped out of the rankings, has 29.
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