Where Did NFL Players from Utah Attend College?

In part one of this series, we looked at how all of the four- and five-star recruits from Utah have faired and where they attended college. In part two, we are taking a look at where every Utah high school football player who has made the NFL since 2000 went to college.

With these articles, we are looking at if the grass is greener for Utah high school football players. As we learned in part one, many of the top in-state recruits head out of state. We looked at if they make the NFL and found that only 7/23 that are out school have made the NFL dating back to the 2002 recruiting class. Now, let’s look at where the 42 former Utah high school football players who have made the NFL since 2000 went to college.

Player UT High School Rating College Rd Pick Year NFL Team

Bronson Kaufusi Timpview 4-Star BYU 3 70 2016 Ravens

Nick Vigil Fremont 3-Star Utah State 3 87 2016 Bengals

James Cowser Davis N/A SUU N/A N/A 2016 Raiders

Nate Orchard Highland 3-Star Utah 2 51 2015 Browns

Zach Vigil Fremont N/A Utah State N/A N/A 2015 Dolphins

Xavier Su'a-Filo Timpview 4-Star UCLA 2 33 2014 Texans

Ricky Heimuli Brighton 4-Star Oregon N/A N/A 2014 Jaguars

Tyler Larson Jordan 2-Star Utah State N/A N/A 2014 Dolphins

Tenny Palepoi Skyline 3-Star* Utah N/A N/A 2014 Chargers

Star Lotulelei Bingham 3-Star* Utah 1 14 2013 Panthers

Joe Kruger Pleasant Grove 3-Star Utah 7 212 2013 Eagles

Cody Larsen Jordan N/A SUU N/A N/A 2013 Ravens

Tony Bergstrom Skyline 3-Star Utah 3 95 2012 Raiders

Stephen Paea Timpview 3-Star* Oregon State 2 53 2011 Bears

Stanley Havili Cottonwood 3-Star USC 7 240 2011 Eagles

Matt Asiata Hunter 3-Star* Utah N/A N/A 2011 Vikings

Patrick Scales Weber N/A Utah State N/A N/A 2011 Ravens

Sealver Siliga Copper Hills 3-Star Utah N/A N/A 2011 49ers

Zane Beadles Hillcrest 2-Star Utah 2 45 2010 Broncos

Paul Kruger Timpanogos 2-Star Utah 2 57 2009 Ravens

Fui Vakapuna East 3-Star BYU 7 215 2009 Bengals

Ray Feinga Hunter 3-Star BYU N/A N/A 2009 Rams

David Hale Fremont N/A Weber State 4 133 2008 Ravens

Shawn Murphy Lone Peak N/A Utah State 4 110 2008 Dolphins

Bryan Kehl Brighton 2-Star BYU 4 123 2008 Giants

C.J. Ah You Lone Peak 4-Star* BYU/Okla. 7 239 2007 Bills

Stewart Bradley Highland N/A Nebraska 3 87 2007 Eagles

Daniel Coats Northridge 3-Star BYU N/A N/A 2007 Bengals

Haloti Ngata Highland 5-Star Oregon 1 12 2006 Ravens

John Madsen Hunter N/A Utah N/A N/A 2006 Raiders

Sione Pouha East N/A Utah 3 88 2005 Jets

Scott Young Hillcrest 4-Star* BYU 5 172 2005 Eagles

Chris Cooley Logan N/A Utah State 3 81 2004 Redskins

Ryon Bingham Alta N/A Nebraska 7 204 2004 Chargers

Colby Bockwoldt Northridge N/A BYU 7 240 2004 Saints

Kevin Curtis Bingham N/A Utah State 3 74 2003 Rams

Mason Unck Bonneville N/A Arizona State N/A N/A 2003 Browns

Reno Mahe Brighton N/A BYU N/A N/A 2003 Eagles

Doug Jolley Dixie N/A BYU 2 55 2002 Raiders

Andre Dyson Clearfield N/A Utah 2 60 2001 Titans

Andy Bowers Hillcrest N/A Utah N/A N/A 2001 Cardinals

Ryan Prince Davis N/A Weber State N/A N/A 2001 Jaguars

*Junior College Rating

Utah NFL Players by College Since 2000

School NFL Players

Utah 13

BYU 10

Utah State 6

Nebraska 2

Oregon 2

Southern Utah 2

Weber State 2

Arizona State 1

Oklahoma 1

Oregon State 1

UCLA 1

USC 1

NFL Players by Star Rating

Star Rating NFL Players

5-Star 1

4-Star 6

3-Star 13

2-Star 5

1-Star 0

No Star Rating 16

The numbers show that the majority of NFL players from Utah not surprisingly come from the three FBS teams in the state: BYU, Utah, and Utah State, with Utah, the only Power-5 team, producing the most. This makes sense because these schools are going to recruit the most in-state players, but it also shows that few programs out of the state of Utah have produced NFL players from Utah. Only Nebraska and Oregon have produced more than one. Of the nine first and second round draft picks, five played at Utah, one played at BYU, one played at Oregon, one played at Oregon State, and one played at UCLA. It is also worth remembering that there are many more three-star recruits than four- or five-star recruits when you see the higher number of three-star recruits in the NFL than four- or five-star recruits.