NFL talent richest in 3 states

0 Comments | USA TODAY, April, 2008 | by Jeff Zillgitt

Southern California football coach Pete Carroll doesn't need to travel far to find recruits. He has his choice of high school football talent within driving distance. It's just 35 miles to Mater Dei High in Santa Ana, 21 to Long Beach Poly High and 22 to Notre Dame High in Sherman Oaks. Dominguez High is just 10 miles down the road in Compton.

He might go two hours south to the San Diego area. Or six hours north to the Bay Area. But Carroll is surrounded by so much talent that he seldom has to leave the state for a recruit, and when he does, he's looking for a player who "fits the profile of guys who are first-round draft picks," Carroll says. "Obviously, we're in a fertile area."

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