Nov 14, 2023 - Sports

Most football players at U of M and MSU are not from Michigan

Data: cfbstats; Chart: Axios Visuals
Data: cfbstats; Chart: Axios Visuals

College football players at U of M and Michigan State mostly come to the mitten from somewhere else.

Why it matters: The growing professionalization and commercialization of college athletics is reshaping the recruiting landscape.

The intrigue: Since 2009, just 40% of Wolverine and Spartan players are from the Great Lakes State, as Ohio (17.3%) and Florida (5.6%) are our biggest imports.

Zoom in: The last quarterback who played high school football in the state of Michigan to start for U of M was Devin Gardner (Inkster High School) in 2014.

  • The last homegrown starting quarterbacks at MSU were Kirk Cousins (Holland Christian) in 2011 and Andrew Maxwell (Midland High School) in 2013.

Zoom out: The South is king when it comes to player exports, as Midwest schools look there more than any other region when recruiting from outside neighboring states.

Go deeper: Why college football programs are crossing state lines to recruit talent

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