Positional U

There is often argument about which schools are the best school at producing players at a particular position (usually skill positions). For example, some people often call USC Halfback U, and Notre Dame is referred to as Quarterback U. To that end, I decided to do some research into which schools consistently produce the best players at their positions.

To do so, I decided to research the number of players elected to the College Football Hall of Fame, Heisman winners at that position, and how many players have been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Also, other notable players at the position are worth noting. Here are my results:

Quarterback U - Notre Dame

College Football Hall of Famers: (9)
Angelo Bertelli, Frank Carideo, Paul Hornung, Johnny Lujack, Harry Stuhlrehder, Bobby Williams, Ralph Guglielmi, Joe Theismann, John Huarte
Runners-up: BYU and Stanford (4)

Pro Football Hall of Famers: (2)
Paul Hornung and Joe Montana
Other teams with 2 Pro Hall of Famers: Alabama, Duke, Georgia, Northwestern, Oregon, Purdue, UCLA

Heisman winners at position: (4)
John Huarte, Paul Hornung, Johnny Lujack, Angelo Bertelli

Notable QBs:
Angelo Bertelli, Frank Carideo, Paul Hornung, Johnny Lujack, Harry Stuhlrehder, Bobby Williams, Ralph Guglielmi, Joe Theismann, John Huarte, Brady Quinn, Joe Montana, Joe Theismann, Steve Beurlein, Terry Hanratty, Blair Kiel, Rick Mirer, Ron Powlus, Tom Clements, Jarious Jackson, Tony Rice

Running Back U - Southern California

College Football Hall of Famers: (10)
Mort Kaer, Erny Pinckert, O.J. Simpson, Charlie White, Marcus Allen, Jon Arnett, Frank Gifford, Mike Garrett, Ricky Bell, Anthony Davis
Runners-up: Notre Dame (8), Ohio State (6)

Pro Football Hall of Famers: (3)
Marcus Allen, Frank Gifford, O.J. Simpson

Heisman winners at position: (5)
Reggie Bush, Marcus Allen, Charles White, O.J. Simpson, Mike Garrett

Notable RBs:
Mort Kaer, Erny Pinckert, O.J. Simpson, Charlie White, Marcus Allen, Jon Arnett, Frank Gifford, Mike Garrett, Ricky Bell, Anthony Davis, Reggie Bush, LenDale White

Receiver U - TIE

This one is a little tougher, as fewer players have been elected to the College or Pro Football Hall of Fame as receivers. I included the more generic end position, and tight ends, to calculate this.

I think we need some more time to let a team separate itself from the crowd in this category. Many teams, such as Florida, Miami and Southern Cal are all making some progress in developing an impressive stable of receivers.

Presented are all three teams with a legitimate claim to the title right now. This will likely change as more players become eligible for induction into the halls, and some more receivers win Heismans.

College Football Hall of Famers:
Michigan: Ron Kramer (End), Bennie Oosterbaan (End), Neil Snow (End), Jim Mandich (Tight End), Anthony Carter (WR)
Notre Dame: Leon Hart (End), Wayne Milner (End), Jim Martin (End), Bob Dove (End), Ken McAfee (Tight End)
Florida State: Fred Biletnikoff (WR), Ron Sellers (WR)

Pro Football Hall of Famers:
Notre Dame: Dave Casper (TE), Wayne Milner (End)
Michigan: Bill Hewitt (End), Elroy Hirsch (End)
Florida State: Fred Biletnikoff (WR)

Heisman Winners at position:
Notre Dame: Leon Hart (End), Tim Brown (WR)
Michigan: Desmond Howard (WR), Charles Woodson (DB/WR)

Recent players of note:
Notre Dame: Anthony Fasano, Jeff Samardzija, Maurice Stovall, Derrick Mayes, Rhema McKnight, Tim Brown, Raghib "Rocket" Ismail
Michigan: Desmond Howard, Charles Woodson, Braylon Edwards, David Terrell, Amani Toomer, Marquise Walker, Jason Avant, Tai Streets
Florida State: Anquan Boldin, Laveranues Coles, Peter Warrick, Javon Walker, Craphonso Thorpe, Ron Sellers, Lawrence Dawsey

Note: ND should get some extra credit at the receiver position for revolutionizing the forward pass with a young end named Knute Rockne as the game's first star receiver.