Where Virginia's college football players come from

The era of hometown talent in college football is potentially becoming a thing of the past.

Why it matters: The growing professionalization and commercialization of college athletics is reshaping the recruiting landscape, Axios' Simran Parwani reports.

• With the changing transfer portal system and the emergence of Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) deals, college football programs are pressured to recruit and retain the best players regardless of academic year or geography.

Zoom in: About 50% of football players at UVA and Virginia Tech — Virginia's Power 5 conference schools — came from our state in the past three years.

• Maryland was our second biggest contributor at 6.2%, followed by Florida and North Carolina.

Zoom out: Texas boasts the highest in-state share, with 78% of its players coming from there.

• Meanwhile, states such as Michigan, Pennsylvania and Ohio look to the South more than any other region when recruiting from outside neighboring states.