Originally Published: December 27, 2006

Maryland: No. 17 football state

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MARYLAND'S NATIONAL RANK
No. 11 pro | No. 32 college | No. 16 high school
Ray Lewis

NFL
No. 11 Maryland

<<< No. 10 Wisconsin · No. 12 District of Columbia>>>

Sandwiched between Super Bowls by Baltimore teams is one dark night in 1984, when the Colts packed their bags and fled town for the Midwest. Even with the great Ravens defense led by linebacker Ray Lewis, fans still remember Colts Art Donovan, Johnny Unitas, Ted Hendricks and others. Raiders coach Art Shell played line at Maryland State-Eastern Shore. Roosevelt Brown, Len Ford, Leroy Kelly and Willie Lanier played at Morgan State.
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COLLEGE
No. 32 Maryland

<<< No. 31 Utah · No. 33 Kansas>>>

Maryland has crawled out of its shell with a national title in 1953, with 77 victories under Jerry Claiborne from 1972-81 and with multiple bowl appearances under Ralph Friedgen since 2001. Terps who moved on to the NFL include quarterback Boomer Esiason and running back LaMont Jordan. Paul Johnson has Navy playing well in recent years, although it's hard to match the Heismans won by halfback Joe Bellino in 1960 and quarterback Roger Staubach in 1963 and the winning Midshipmen of the '50s.
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HIGH SCHOOL
No. 16 Maryland

<<< No. 15 Mississippi · No. 17 Oklahoma>>>

In addition to tasty crab cakes, Maryland produces good talent on a yearly basis. Maryland had seven players in the ESPN 150 last year. Spring 2006 DI signees: 43. Fall 2006 high school football teams: 188.
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POLL QUESTION

1) Greatest influence in the 2000 Super Bowl season?

RB Jamal Lewis
LB Ray Lewis (Super Bowl MVP)
Owner Art Modell
CB Duane Starks

Hashing out the best football state

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ESPN.com has teed up the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Now the football is in your hands. Pull on your gameday jersey, tape up those writing fingers and hit back with your opinion. We'll print the best fan signal callers on our pages. Submit your opinion

States' overall football rank
1. Texas | Conversation
2. California | Conversation
3. Florida | Conversation
4. Pennsylvania | Conversation
5. Ohio | Conversation
6. Georgia | Conversation
7. Michigan | Conversation
8. Louisiana | Conversation
9. New Jersey | Conversation
10. Wisconsin | Conversation
11. Illinois | Conversation
12. Alabama | Conversation
13. Virginia | Conversation
14. North Carolina | Conversation
15. Missouri | Conversation
16. New York | Conversation
17. Maryland | Conversation
18. Tennessee | Conversation
19. Oklahoma | Conversation
20. Indiana | Conversation
21. Nebraska | Conversation
22. Colorado | Conversation
23. Washington | Conversation
24. Minnesota | Conversation
25. Mississippi | Conversation
26. Iowa | Conversation
27. Massachusetts | Conversation
28. Arizona | Conversation
29. Arkansas | Conversation
30. District of Columbia | Conversation
31. West Virginia | Conversation
32. South Carolina | Conversation
33. Oregon | Conversation
34. Nevada | Conversation
35.Hawaii | Conversation
36. Kentucky | Conversation
37. Utah | Conversation
38. Kansas | Conversation
39. Connecticut | Conversation
40. Idaho | Conversation
41. New Mexico | Conversation
42. New Hampshire | Conversation
43. Rhode Island | Conversation
44. Wyoming | Conversation
45. Delaware | Conversation
46. North Dakota | Conversation
47. South Dakota | Conversation
48. Maine | Conversation
49. Montana | Conversation
50. Vermont | Conversation
51. Alaska | Conversation

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