The state of Texas leads the nation in the total number of Division I commits, so it shouldn’t be any surprise that it is also the most-represented state in this week’s Super Bowl.
A total of 16 players from the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints hail from Texas, highlighted by Saints quarterback Drew Brees, who led Westlake (Austin) to a 16-0 record in 1996 and was named the Texas Class 5A MVP.
Two players from Southlake Carroll will suit up on Super Bowl Sunday.
<center>Harvey Dunn (2009)</center>
Meanwhile, Saints kicker Garrett Hartley and backup quarterback Chase Daniel were teammates in high school at Carroll (Southlake). The two former Dragons played on the Carroll team that lost to Katy in 2003. Daniel went on to lead the Dragons to a 16-0 record and a No. 1 national ranking by USA Today in 2004 while earning All-American honors.
Naaman Forest also has a pair of alumni in the Super Bowl. Melvin Bullitt, a defensive back for the Colts, was an all-district safety in 2002, while Colts receiver Jacob Lacey was an all-district quarterback in 2004.
California follows Texas with 11 players on the two squads, headed by former Saints running back and former USA Today All-American Reggie Bush out of Helix (La Mesa).
Florida has seven players, headed by Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma, who was an All-Dade County honoree as a defensive standout at Coral Gables.
Peyton Manning’s home state of Louisiana has six players represented, as do Georgia and Pennsylvania. Manning was the Gatorade National Player of the Year during his stint at Isidore Newman in New Orleans.
Following is a list of the active players on each squad, along with their high school as listed by NFL.com.
Indianapolis Colts
Joseph Addai, Sharpstown (Houston)
Ervin Baldwin, Macon (Montezuma, Ga.)
Hank Baskett, Clovis (N.M.)
Antoine Bethea, Denbigh, Newport News (Va.)
Gary Brackett, Glassboro, (N.J.)
Raheem Brock, Murrell Dobbins (Philadelphia)
Donald Brown, Red Bank Catholic (N.J.)
Melvin Bullitt, Naaman Forest (Garland, Texas)
Dallas Clark, Twin River Valley (Bode, Iowa)
Colin Cloherty, Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.)
Austin Collie, Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills, Calif.)
Keyunta Dawson, Evangel Christian Academy (Shreveport, La.)
Kyle DeVan, Vacaville (Calif.)
Ryan Diem, Glenbard North (Carol Stream, Ill.)
Eric Foster, Homestead (Fla.)
Aaron Francisco, Kahuku (Hawaii)
Dwight Freeney, Bloomfield (Conn.)
Pierre Garcon, Leonard (Lake Worth, Fla.)
Samuel Giguere, Sherbrooke (Canada)
John Gill, Bellarmine Prep (San Jose, Calif.)
Cody Glenn, Rusk (Texas)
Mike Hart, Onondaga (Nedrow, N.Y.)
Kevlin Hayden, Hubbard (Chicago)
Ramon Humber, Champlin Park (Champlin, Minn.)
Tim Jennings, Orangeburg-Wilkinson (Orangeburg, S.C.)
Antonio Johnson, Leland (Miss.)
Charlie Johnson, Sherman (Texas)
Freddy Keiaho, Buena (Ventura, Calif.)
Jacob Lacey, Naaman Forest (Garland, Texas)
Ryan Lilja, Shawnee Mission Northwest (Kan.)
Peyton Manning, Isidore Newman (New Orleans, La.)
Robert Mathis, McNair (Atlanta)
Pat McAfee, Plum (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
Fili Moala, Western (Anaheim, Calif.)
Daniel Muir, Parkdale (Riverdale, Md.)
Curtis Painter, Lincoln (Vincennes, Ind.)
Mike Pollak, Corona Del Sol (Tempe, Ariz.)
Jerraud Powers, Decatur (Ala.)
Jamey Richard, Weston (Conn.)
Gijon Robinson, Waynesville (Mo.)
T.J. Rushing, Pauls Valley (Okla.)
Jeff Saturday, Shamrock (Tucker, Ga.)
Clint Session, Ely (Pompano Beach, Fla.)
Jamie Silva, East Providence (R.I.)
Chad Simpson, Miami Edison (Fla.)
Justin Snow, Abilene (Texas)
Matt Stover, Lake Highlands (Dallas, Texas)
Jacob Tamme, Boyle County (Danville, Ky.)
Michael Toudouze, East Central (San Antonio, Texas)
Tony Ugoh, Westfield (Houston, Texas)
Adam Vinatieri, Central (Rapid City, S.D.)
Reggie Wayne, John Ehret (Marrero, La.)
Philip Wheeler, Shaw (Columbus, Ga.)
New Orleans Saints
Adrian Arrington, Washington (Cedar Rapids, Iowa)
Remi Ayodele, South Grand Prairie (Grand Prairie, Texas)
Mike Bell, Tolleson (Ariz.)
Drew Brees, Westlake (Austin, Texas)
Mark Brunell, St. Joseph (Santa Maria, Calif.)
Reggie Bush, Helix (La Mesa, Calif.)
Jermon Bushrod, King George (Va.)
Jonathan Casillas, New Brunswick (N.J.)
Jeff Charleston, Central (Independence, Ore.)
Marques Colston, Susquehanna Township (Harrisburg, Pa.)
Chase Daniel, Carroll (Southlake, Texas)
Darnell Dinkins, Schenley (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
Kyle Eckel, Espicopal Academy (Merion, Pa.)
Sedrick Ellis, Chino (Calif.)
Jahri Evans, Frankford (Philadelphia)
Troy Evans, Lakota (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Scott Fujita, Rio Mesa (Oxnard, Calif.)
Randall Gay, Brusly (La.)
Jonathan Goodwin, Lower Richland (Hopkins, S.C.)
Jabari Greer, South Side (Jackson, Tenn.)
Lynell Hamilton, Edison (Stockton, Calif.)
Anthony Hargrove, Port Charlotte (Fla.)
Roman Harper, Prattville (Ala.)
Garrett Hartley, Carroll (Southlake, Texas)
Devery Henderson, Opelousas (La.)
Tory Humphrey, Saginaw (Mich.)
Malcolm Jenkins, Piscataway Township (N.J.)
Jason Kyle, McClintock (Tempe, Ariz.)
Nick Leckey, Grapevine (Texas)
Bobby McCray, Homestead (Fla.)
Robert Meachem, Booker T. Washington (Tulsa, Okla.)
Marvin Mitchell, Lake Taylor (Norfolk, Va.)
Lance Moore, Westerville South (Ohio)
Thomas Morstead, Pearland (Texas)
Jamar Nesbit, Summerville (S.C.)
Carl Nicks, North Salinas (Salinas, Calif.)
Tracy Porter, Port Allen (La.)
DeMario Pressley, Dudley (Greensboro, N.C.)
Pierson Prioleau, Macedonia (Moncks Corner, S.C.)
Chris Reis, Roswell (Ga.)
Courtney Roby, North Central (Indianapolis, Ind.)
Scott Shanle, St. Edward (Neb.)
Darren Sharper, Hermitage (Richmond, Va.)
Jeremy Shockey, Ada (Okla.)
Will Smith, Proctor (Utica, N.Y.)
Paul Spicer, Northwest (Indianapolis, Ind.)
Jonathan Stinchcomb, Parkview (Lilburn, Ga.)
Zach Strief, Milford (Ohio)
Pierre Thomas, Thornton Fractional South (Lansing, Ill.)
David Thomas, Frenship (Wolfforth, Texas)
Jonathan Vilma, Coral Gables (Fla.)
Anthony Waters, Lake View (S.C.)
Usama Young, Largo (Upper Marlboro, Md.)