re: NFL Players by College Conference

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Some of those stats account for going back quite a few years given the length of an NFL player's career...however remembering the last few drafts it appears the ACC numbers are declining given the dearth of Miami and FSU players drafted the last couple of years compared to the players they used to churn out to the NFL.

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Those are good points, but I think the numbers reflect more recent trends better than you might think. The average NFL career only lasts about 3 years, so the vast majority of these players have only been in the NFL for only a few years or less. Also, concerning the ACC, teams in that conference may well be headed in the wrong direction, but I personally doubt that that will continue. If you check various recruiting sites, it is apparent that Miami and Florida State still recruit extremely well. It's probably just a matter of time before they return to dominance, just like it was for pre-2002 USC, pre-2000 Oklahoma, etc.

Obviously, the purpose of this post was not to rank the conferences in order of how strong they are this season or were last season. I think it really just shows the overall trend of recent history. As such, it could be controversial because it definitely will challenge the opinions, assumptions, and stereotypes of close-minded fans. For instance, it suggests that Big Ten haters who complain that Ohio State only gets consistently high rankings because it plays a cupcake conference schedule every year are probably underestimating that conference and the players who go there.