Angry Pope
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Bing being mentioned....
California high schools placing most players in NFL
Updated 5/17/2006 1:43 AM ET
By Christopher Lawlor
Score another one for California in the debate over which state plays the best high school football.
According to an NFL analysis of this spring's draft, two California high schools — De La Salle and Long Beach Poly — led the way with each producing three draftees. Overall, the state had 36 former high school players taken. Texas was second with 30 and Florida third with 26.
The De La Salle draftees were running back Maurice Jones-Drew (Jacksonville), linebacker Kevin Simon (Washington) and receiver Demetrius Williams (Baltimore). Poly had safety Darnell Bing (Oakland), tackle Winston Justice (Philadelphia) and tight end Marcedes Lewis (Jacksonville).
"(It's) a tremendous individual achievement," De La Salle coach Bob Ladouceur says. "I spoke with Maurice (Jones-Drew), and he'll be the Jaguars' return man and third-down back, and Kevin (Simon) reports he had a good minicamp (with the Redskins)."
Eleven schools had two players drafted, and 227 schools had one.
Five of the six drafted players from De La Salle and Poly played in the Oct. 6, 2001, game between the teams, won by De La Salle 29-15, part of its record run of 151 consecutive victories.
"Maurice (Jones-Drew) still teases me about that game," says Lewis of his new Jacksonville teammate.