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More Than 200 Colleges Had At Least One Alum on Opening Day Rosters

Pro Football Hall of Famers Paul Warfield, Orlando Pace and Cris Carter all attended Ohio State and this year that trio can claim bragging rights when they get together with their former NFL teammates.

According to a study just released by the league office, THEE Ohio State University had the most players on active rosters when the season began earlier this month. The Buckeyes were at the top of the list with 56 players.

Alabama finished second this year with 55 players on Kickoff Weekend. The Crimson Tide in the nine most recent seasons (2017-25) either had the most– or tied for the most–players in this category. (Don’t cry for Joe Willie or Ozzie Newsome!)

The Top Ten schools with the most players at the start of the current season are:

  • Ohio State (56)
  • Alabama (55)
  • Georgia (52)
  • LSU (44)
  • Notre Dame (40)
  • Michigan (39)
  • Texas (39)
  • Penn State (37)
  • Florida (36)
  • Oregon (36)
Overall, a total of 204 colleges and universities had at least one player on active rosters when we kicked off on September 9.