By Dean Michaels, NFL Writer
Football is the sport of choice for more and more high school students each year. According to the National Federation of State High School Associations, the number of participants on 11-player football teams was 1,108,441.
In total, the 1,134,377 boys involved in the sport account for approximately 25 percent of the 4,494,406 boys that participate in athletics. For the 13th year in a row, involvement in football surpassed the one-million mark.
The number of participants playing high school football on 11-, nine-, eight-, and six-player teams is significantly larger than the next most-played sport, outdoor track and field, in which 579,302 boys participated.
Most Popular Boys High School Sports
| Sport | Number Of Participants |
|---|---|
| Source: NFL | |
| Football | 1,134,377 |
| Outdoor Track and Field | 579,302 |
| Basketball | 545,844 |
| Baseball | 471,025 |
| Soccer | 398,351 |
The state of Texas boasts the most high school students playing 11-man football with 168,680 participants. Texas also had the most players selected in the 2012 NFL Draft with 32, topping Florida's 31 players drafted this year.
States with double-digit players drafted by NFL teams in 2012:
| State | Players Drafted |
|---|---|
| Source: NFL | |
| Texas | 32 |
| Florida | 31 |
| California | 26 |
| Georgia | 14 |
| Ohio | 16 |
| North Carolina | 10 |
A total of 241 high schools contributed to the 253 players selected in the seven rounds of the 2012 NFL Draft. There were 10 schools with two or more players selected. Miami Northwestern (left) in Miami, Florida led all high schools with four players -- LAVONTE DAVID (Tampa Bay), SEAN SPENCE (Pittsburgh), TOMMY STREETER (Baltimore) and BRANDON WASHINGTON (Philadelphia) -- chosen.
"I really haven't had a chance to play back in Florida," says David, who was chosen by the Buccaneers in the second round. "It's great to have an opportunity to play in Tampa, four hours up the road from Miami."
High schools that had multiple players drafted by NFL clubs in 2012:
| High School | Total | Players (NFL Team/Round) |
|---|---|---|
| Source: NFL | ||
| Miami Northwestern (Miami, FL) | 4 | Lavonte David (Tampa Bay/2); Sean Spence (Pittsburgh/3); Tommy Streeter (Baltimore/6); Brandon Washington (Philadelphia/6) |
| Colony (Ontario, California) | 2 | Omar Bolden (Denver/4); Bobby Wagner (Seattle/2) Granite Bay (Granite Bay, CA) 2 Miles Burris (Oakland/4); Devon Wylie (Kansas City/4) |
| Lake Worth Community (Lake Worth, FL) | 2 | LaVon Brazill (Indianapolis/6); Joe Looney (San Francisco/4) |
| Martin Luther King (Detroit, MI) | 2 | Chris Greenwood (Detroit/5); Nick Perry (Green Bay/1) |
| Pahokee (Pahokee, FL) | 2 | Dwight Bentley (Detroit/3); Janoris Jenkins (St. Louis/2) |
| Saint Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, FL) | 2 | Andrew Datko (Green Bay/7); Christian Thompson (Baltimore/4) |
| Saint Xavier (Cincinnati, OH) | 2 | Luke Kuechly (Carolina/1); Greg Scruggs (Seattle/7) |
| Scotland (Laurinburg, NC) | 2 | Terrell Manning (Green Bay/5); Travian Robertson (Atlanta/7) |
| Warren (Warren, AR) | 2 | Greg Childs (Minnesota/4); Jarius Wright (Minnesota/4) |
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