BENSALEM, Pa. – One of the greatest three day stretches annually in professional sports is the National Football League Draft. This year it was held in Detroit and it was a smash for the Motor City from April 25-27.
What’s even more intriguing for Blue Star Media is monitoring how many players from teams that have appeared or are regulars in the Elite Star Media Elite 25 high school football rankings were drafted in the seven rounds over the three days.
Dreams are realized and young men are in league where they play for pay (easy on the NIL).
Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) and IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) led the way with three selections apiece while 21 other high schools had two alumni taken. In all, 257 players were drafted from 232 high schools, including six internationals.
“Each year, the NFL Draft marks a transition from college football to the NFL,” NFL Vice President of Football Development Roman Oben said. “The Draft represents years of hard work and childhood dreams fulfilled, shared by families and entire communities. Two hundred fifty-seven players were drafted representing 232 different high schools. Many more received phone calls to sign as rookie free agents.
“As American football continues to gain global appeal, it inspires boys and girls from around the world to dream the NFL dream, catch the passion of playing, and experience the life-transforming development of character, confidence, and resilience unique to football participation,” he added.
Elite 25 regulars such as Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.), Good Counsel (Olney, Md.), Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.), Pinson Valley (Pinson, Ala.), Ravenwood (Brentwood, Tenn.), St. Joseph’s Prep (Philadelphia), St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), St. Frances Academy (Baltimore) and Valor Christian (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) were among the schools with two drafted.
“It’s great for my high school and great for the Las Vegas Valley as a whole,“ said Chicago Bears wide receiver Rome Odunze, a graduate of Bishop Gorman. “We will continue to represent Vegas and if you’re a coach looking for some ballers you know where to find us! Bear Down.”
IMG Academy, with JC Latham (No. 7 overall) and J.J. McCarthy (No. 10), became the first high school to have two players selected in the top-10 of the same NFL Draft since at least 1970. IMG Academy is the only school to have multiple players drafted in each of the past six years and have produced a first-round selection for the fifth-consecutive draft (Latham and McCarthy in 2024, Nolan Smith in 2023, Evan Neal in 2022, Greg Newsome in 2021 and Cesar Ruiz in 2020).
Gonzaga – with No. 1 overall selection Caleb Williams (Chicago Bears) and No. 11 pick Olu Fashanu (New York Jets) – joined IMG Academy as the only high schools to produce multiple first round selections in 2024.
“It’s exciting to have two guys from Gonzaga get drafted this year,” said Chicago Bears quarterback and 2022 Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams, a Gonzaga alumnus. “I think it speaks to the history and tradition of our great program and hopefully we can have more Eagles drafted in the years to come!”
Other draft tidbits compiled by NFL Communications:
- Thirty-nine states and the District of Columbia each had at least one player drafted. Florida produced 30 drafted players, the most among all states, and is the state to produce the most drafted players in five of the past seven NFL Drafts (2018-19, 2021, 2023-24).
- Florida led all states with six first-round selections, including top-10 choices JC Latham (IMG Academy, Bradenton), Michael Penix (Tampa Bay Tech, Tampa) and J.J. McCarthy (IMG Academy, Bradenton).
- Over the past seven NFL Drafts (2018-24), schools from Florida (216 total), Texas (206) and California (151) have had the most players selected.
· For the 18th time in the past 19 seasons, at least one player who attended high school outside of the United States was selected in the NFL Draft. The 2024 players selected: G Isaiah Adams (Ajax, Ontario, Canada), T Travis Clayton (Basingstoke, England), TE Theo Johnson (Windsor, Ontario, Canada), T Giovanni Manu (Pitt Meadows, British Columbia, Canada), TE Tanner McLachlan (Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada) and P Tory Taylor (Melbourne, Australia).
- Clayton – a member of the International Player Pathway (IPP) Program Class of 2024 and a former rugby player from England – is the third-ever IPP athlete to be drafted, joining Jordan Mailata (2018 NFL Draft, from Australia) and Mortiz Böhringer (2016 NFL Draft, from Germany).
- Click here for the NFL Communications full release. It most notably details states broken down by high schools and the 23 high schools with multiple players drafted. — Christopher Lawlor
