Michigan Beats Ohio State In Producing Top NFL Talent

The Michigan vs. Ohio State rivalry is probably the best one in college football and has been for decades. So any chance to fuel that fire is money.

Odds are it’s about to get even more interesting with Jim Harbaugh turning things around in Ann Arbor after years of mediocrity. At the same time the Buckeyes have enjoyed loads of fruitful success. From 2002 to 2016 they’ve played in four national championship games and won two of them. This isn’t counting the five other major bowl victories they gained over that span.

Meanwhile over that same stretch Michigan has failed to reach a national title and has only one major bowl victory. Certainly not in keeping with their grand tradition. Even so, people might be surprised to find out an interesting fact. According to Chase Goodbread of NFL.com, the maize and blue have had far greater success at producing top pro talent.

Using a complex formula that involved MVPs, Pro Bowl selections and number of high draft picks he arrived at a final tally since the year 2000. Among the top seven teams, Michigan came in second. Ohio State? They didn’t even place.

OSU rules college but falters in the pros

"2. MichiganPoints: 148.0Picks since 2000: 76 (tied for 10th most)Best picks since 2000 (points): 1. QB Tom Brady (80.0); 2. OG Steve Hutchinson (35.2); 3. OT Jake Long(14.3); 4. LB LaMarr Woodley (4.8); 5. RB Anthony Thomas (4.8).Skinny: Naturally, Tom Brady’s 80 points were the most of any player in the series by a wide margin. In fact, Brady piled up more points by himself than 19 of 30 schools in the series compiled among all their top draft picks. Still, Brady wasn’t the only reason Michigan finished at No. 2 in the team rankings. OG Steve Hutchinson sustained a place among the elite at his position for most of the 2000s. Most of the Michigan contingent has finished their careers, but Titans OT Taylor Lewan is an up-and-comer who would figure to climb the list over time."

It’s true. Since 2000, the Buckeyes have seen 108 of their players get drafted. That’s solid work. However, only eight of them managed to reach a Pro Bowl to this point and none at present have a case for the Hall of Fame. Nick Mangold is the closest. At the same time the the Wolverines delivered nine Pro Bowlers. That may be only one more, but it’s also out of just 65 players total drafted. So teams are getting far greater bang for their buck by drafting Michigan.

That has to sting for Ohio State fans, knowing their hated rival may be losing the battles in college but are ultimately winning the wars in the NFL. Just imagine if Michigan is able to finally break through for their own national title in the near future.