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Study shows Notre Dame has produced the most players in NFL history

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These days, the SEC has distinguished itself as the top producer of NFL talent among college football conferences, but that wasn't always the case.

A study conducted by Grand Canyon University found that Notre Dame has produced the most players in NFL history, with 495 of the league's 25,453 all-time players coming out of the school. Rounding out the top five are USC (479), Ohio State (426), Penn State (359), and Nebraska (346).

Alabama, which had the most players of any college on NFL rosters in 2018, ranked No. 10 on the list with 319.

"In terms of players by decade, the NFL relied heavily on schools from the Midwest such as Notre Dame and Minnesota in the early days, before shifting their focus out west to USC in the '70s and '80s," the study states, "before settling into a varied approach that has seen schools from the Midwest, California, and the Southeast regularly headlining NFL rosters over the last 30 years."

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