And that is a hard maybe that anyone will read this

I went and did this crazy task to make myself feel better about Illinois football and built out rosters based on players getting paid in the NFL then I got carried away. This is the list of players, either on rosters, pup list or on practice squads from around the league from ourlads. After I went looking, I realized I could have differentiated between active roster, starting, depth and practice squad but I was already deep and not modifying for all the squads. I wanted to see which colleges could produce a real NFL team from players getting paid. To make the list, the college had to produce a player from every position group on a roster, QB, RB, WR, TE, OL, DL, LB, CB, and S. Ourlads listed Free Agents didn't get counted unless by mistake. I also thought of real formations. The college had to produce 5OL, 5 total skill positions players, could by any combo as long as they had 5 players while still having each position represented. Needed at least 2DL and 5 total front seven players. Needed at least 4 total CBs and Safeties and 11 total defensive players. I wanted to see which programs were recruiting and developing whole rosters that the NFL felt worthy to employ. That idea was very Ranger inspired. Total Players are in parentheses behind the list of players by position

These are the 15 programs that could produce a real lineup to throw out there. The Beloved are one of them which makes me feel better. 13 of the 15 programs are SEC and B1G programs. 7 from the B1G, 6 from the SEC. One is Notre Dame. The only ACC or Big 12 program that had a complete lineup is surprisingly Virginia Tech. Iowa makes it even though their QB is on a Practice Squad for this exercise. Surprisingly, no schools based in Florida or California made the list. Even though many were close. I will cover below

Complete Rosters
Alabama 4QB, 5RB, 7WR, 2TE, 9OL, 14DL, 9LB, 7CB, 6S, 1PK, 1PT (65)
Arkansas 1QB, 1RB, 3WR, 2TE, 5OL, 5DL, 2ILB, 3CB, 1S, 2PK (25)
Georgia 2QB, 7RB, 4WR, 6TE, 12OL, 12DL, 10LB, 5CB, 5S, 1LS (64)
Illinois 1QB, 1RB, 4WR, 1TE, 6OL, 5DL, 3LB, 2CB, 4S, 1PK (28)
Iowa 1QB, 2RB, 2WR, 6TE, 7OL, 5DL, 7LB, 2CB, 5S, 1PT, 1LS (39)
LSU 2QB, 2RB, 7WR, 2TE, 11OL, 7DL, 12LB, 6CB, 4S, 1LS (54)
Michigan 1QB, 4RB, 4WR, 4TE, 13OL, 10DL, 7LB, 8CB, 2S, 1PK, 1LS (55)
Notre Dame, 2QB, 2RB, 5WR, 6TE, 10OL, 9DL, 6LB, 5CB, 6S, 3PK, 2LS (56)
Ohio St 3QB, 4RB, 9WR, 4TE, 13OL, 14DL, 11LB, 7CB, 6S, 1PT, 1LS (73)
Oklahoma 3QB, 4RB, 4WR, 2TE, 11OL, 6DL, 5LB, 1CB, 3S, 1PK, 1PT, 1LS (42)
Oregon 4QB, 2RB, 3WR, 5TE, 9OL, 8DL, 6LB, 6CB, 4S, 0ST (47)
Penn St 1QB, 2RB, 5WR, 5TE, 9OL, 7DL, 7LB, 4CB, 5S, 2PT, 1LS (48)
Texas 2QB, 5RB, 1FB, 7WR, 3TE, 7OL, 12DL, 2LB, 3CB, 6S, 1PK, 1PT (50)
Va Tech 1QB, 3RB, 3WR, 1TE, 6OL, 3DL, 4LB, 2CB, 3S, 2PK (28)
Wash 2QB, 2RB, 5WR, 6TE, 6OL, 5DL, 5LB, 4CB, 4S, 0ST (39)

My ranking of the actual strength of the rosters taking into account Practice Squad players. Ohio State was a clear No.1. Bama, LSU and Georgia in any order. Michigan and Notre Dame can flip around. I thought Michigan was a little better. Oregon, Texas and Penn State are eye of the beholder. Oklahoma and Washington could switch. On down was pretty clear in their spot on the list

OSU 73 players (9PS)
Alabama 65 players (3PS)
LSU 54 players (8PS)
Georgia 64 players (5PS)
Michigan 55 players (9PS)
Notre Dame 56 players (13PS)
Oregon 47 players (9PS)
Texas 50 players (4PS)
Penn State 48 players (7PS)
Oklahoma 42 players (6PS)
Washington 39 players (9PS)
Iowa 39 players (6PS)
Illinois 28 players (4PS)
Va Tech 28 players (6PS)
Arkansas 25 players (7PS)

Just Missed Programs:

Below is a list of programs that is one position group short. The most common group to miss is offensive line. I would feel worse if NCSt didnt produce 8 players and UConn produced 5 themselves.

The 2 closest of the just missed were USC and Florida. USC needs to produce a TE and Florida a Safety. If I wasn't beholden to my idea, I could but USC above. They have enough WRs to run 10 personal and Lineman for the goal line. Florida only has 4 CBs, feel comfortable leaving them off. UCLA and A&M were QBs away. Pitt fell to be idea that you need 5 front players and at least 2 DLineman. Tennessee and South Carolina were each one OL from making it. South Carolina would have a fun roster if the had one more. Missouri was a safety away from having a very weak roster. TCU is any player on Defense from giving them 11 defensive players on rosters

This group really shows the dominance of the SEC recruiting though. 7 of the 16 programs close to completing a roster are SEC, only 3 are B1G. 4 are ACC, 2 are Big XII. The program that shocked me to not make in here was Florida St.

Auburn OL (3) 1QB, 2RB, 4WR, 2OL, 3TE, 5DL, 9LB, 6CB, 2S, 1PK, 1LS (36)
Clemson OL (2) 2QB, 3RB, 4WR, 2TE, 3OL, 9DL, 6LB, 3CB, 2S, 1P (35)
Florida Safety: 2QB, 2RB, 6WR, 1TE, 9OL, 9DL, 6LB, 4CB, 2PK, 2PT (43)
Miami OL (3): 1QB, 2RB, 3WR, 4TE, 2OL, 7DL, 4LB, 6CB, 4S, 2PK, 1PT (36)
Mississippi OL (2) 1QB, 1RB, 10WR, 3TE, 3OL, 6DL, 5LB, 4CB, 4S, 0ST (35)
Missouri Safety 2QB, 2QB, 2WR, 1TE, 6OL, 3DL, 4LB, 3CB, 0S, 0ST (23)
Pitt DL (1) 1QB, 1RB, 4WR, 2TE, 5OL,1DL, 3LB, 2CB, 6S, 1PK, 1LS (27)
South Carolina OL (1) 1QB, 3RB, 1FB, 4WR, 4TE, 4OL, 7DL, 5LB, 5CB, 1S, 1PT (36)
Stanford OL (1) Defense (1), 2QB, 1RB, 5WR, 6TE, 4OL, 3DL, 2LB, 3CB, 2S (28)
TCU Defense (1) 1QB, 2RB, 6WR, 1TE, 8OL, 2DL, 4LB, 2CB, 2S, 0ST (28)
Tennessee OL (1) 3QB, 3RB, 1FB, 5WR, 1TE, 4OL, 6DL, 3LB, 3CB, 2S (31)
Texas A&M (QB) 2RB, 5WR, 1TE, 8OL, 8DL, 5LB, 1CB, 3S, 1PT (34)
UCLA (QB) 2RB, 1FB, 1WR, 4TE, 8OL, 6DL, 9LB, 3CB, 1S, 1PK (36)
USC (TE) 2QB, 3RB, 7WR, 7OL, 7DL, 4LB, 4CB, 4S, 0ST (38)
Utah OL (3) 1QB, 1RB, 3WR, 3TE, 2OL, 2DL, 7LB, 4CB, 3S, 1PK, 1PT (28)
Wisconsin Db (2) 1QB, 3RB, 1FB, 3WR, 2TE, 10OL, 3DL, 8LB, 1CB, 1S (33)

Remaining P4 teams

Here is the list of the remaining P5 programs. Arizona St and Vanderbilt are the weakest 2 by far with only 8 players collecting NFL paychecks. FSU is the strongest by far. FSU, Kentucky, Minnesota, and Maryland all could field a defense but missing offensive talent. Louisville would be a great combo with Illinois

Rest of B1G
Indiana 1QB, 3WR, 3TE, 2OL, 1DT, 3LB, 1S (14)
Maryland, 1RB, 4WR, 1TE, 3OL, 5DE, 2LB, 3CB, 4S, 1PK (24)
Michigan St, 1QB, 2RB, 1FB, 3WR, 2TE, 4OL, 3DL, 3LB, 1CB, 1S, 1PT (22)
Minnesota 1QB, 2WR, 3TE, 3OL, 3DL, 5LB, 3CB, 5S (25)
Nebraska 1RB, 3TE, 3OL, 3DL, 5LB, 1CB (16)
Northwestern 1QB, 1WR, 3OL, 3DL, 1LB, 2CB (11)
Purdue 1QB, 2RB, 2WR, 1TE, 2OL, 1DL, 2LB, 2CB, 1S (14)
Rutgers 2RB, 1FB, 1WR, 1OL, 3DL, 6CB, 1S, 1PK, 1LS (17)

Rest of SEC
Kentucky 1QB, 2RB, 1WR, 5OL, 4DL, 4LB, 4CB, 4S (25)
Miss St 1QB, 3OT, 7DL, 3LB, 3CB, 1S, 1PT (19)
Vanderbilt 1WR, 1OT, 2DL, 3LB, 1LS (8)

Rest of ACC
Boston College 2RB, 1WR, 1TE, 5OL, 3DL, 3LB, 2CB, 1S (18)
Cal 2QB, 1WR, 1TE, 2OL, 1DL, 4LB, 2CB, 6S, 1PT (20)
Duke 1QB, 2WR, 1TE, 4OL, 1DT, 4LB, 2CB, 2LS (17)
FSU, 2QB, 3RB, 2WR, 2OL, 8DL, 5LB, 5CB, 3S, 2PK (32)
GT 1RB, 3TE, 1OT, 2DE, 1OLB, 1S, 1PK (10)
Louisville 3QB, 2RB, 4WR, 1TE, 3OL, 2DL, 2LB, 6CB (23)
North Carolina 3QB, 4RB, 1FB, 4WR, 1TE, 4OL, 0DL, 5LB, 1CB, 1S, 0ST (24)
NCST 1QB, 2RB, 1WR, OTE, 8OL, 6DL, 4LB, 0CB, 1S, 1PT (24)
SMU 1QB, 1RB, 3WR, 2TE, 3OL, 5DL, 2CB, 1S, 1PT, 1LS (20)
Syracuse 1QB, 2RB, 1WR, 2TE, 4LB, 2CB, 3S, 1PK, 1PT (16)
Virginia 3WR, 1TE, 1OT, 2DE, 1OLB, 1CB, 3S (12)
Wake Forest 3WR, 1TE, 3OL, 1DT, 4LB, 3CB, 2S (17)

Rest of Big XII
Arizona 3RB, 2WR, 2OG, 1DT, 1LB, 3PK (12)
Arizona St 2RB, 1WR, 1DT, 2CB, 1S, 1LS (8)
Baylor 1RB, 1WR, 1TE, 1OL, 5DL, 2LB, 1CB, 1S, 2LS (15)
BYU 2QB, 2RB, 1WR, 1TE, 3OL, 1DT, 2LB, 2OLB 2CB, 1S, 1PT (18)
UCF 1RB, 3WR, 1TE, 2OT, 2DT, 3CB, 1S, 1PK, 2LS (16)
Cinci 1QB, 2RB, 3WR, 3TE, 3OL, 1DT, 3ILB, 1CB, 3S (20)
Colorado 1QB, 1FB, 5WR, 1OG, 2DL, 2LB, 2CB, 2S, 1Travis Hunter (17)
Houston 3QB, 1WR, 3DL, 2LB, 4CB, 1S (14)
Iowa St, 1QB, 3RB, 4WR, 1TE, 3OL, 3DE, 2ILB, 3CB, 2S (22)
Kansas 1RB, 2WR, 4OL, 2DE, 1CB (10)
Kansas St. 2QB, 2RB, 1TE, 5OL, 2DL, 4CB, 1S (17)
OKST, 1QB, 4RB, 2WR, 4OL, 4DL, 3LB, 3CB (21)
Texas Tech 1QB, 1RB, 1WR, 1TE, 2OL, 3DL, 1LB, 1CB, 2S, 1PT (14)
West Virginia 2QB, 3WR, 5OL, 2DL, 1ILB, 2CB, 2LS (17)

Because Vanderbilt and Arizona St were the lowest two programs with 8 players on roster, I decided to make 8 players my cutoff for programs with substantial players in the league from the non power conference level. Sad face that Oregon St and Wash St were the top 2 non power conference teams. Memphis producing 5Rbs, Boise St with 4RBs were eye opening. Western Michigan and UConn producing 5OL each clarified my opinions above on teams needing to produce 5OL.

Best other programs 8+
App State 1RB, 3OL, 3LB, 2CB, 1PT (10)
Boise St 1QB, 4RB, 2WR, 1TE, 2OL, 1DL, 1OLB, 1S (13)
Buffalo 1RB, 1TE, 1OG, 1DE, 2LB, 1CB, 1S (8)
CMU 1QB, 1RB, 2TE, 2OT, 2LB, 2CB (10)
Colorado St 1WR, 1TE, 2OL, 1OLB, 2CB, 1LS (8)
UConn 5OL 3DL (8)
FAU 1RB, 2TE, 2OL, 2DL, 1LB, 1CB (9)
Fresno St 1QB, 2RB, 3WR, 1DE, 2LB, 1CB, 1S (11)
Louisiana 1RB, 1WR, 4OL, 1DE, 1CB, 1S (9)
Marshall 1RB, 2OT, 3LB, 1CB, 1S (8)
Memphis 5RB, 1WR, 1OG, 1DE, 2ILB, 2CB, 2PK (14)
Oregon St 1RB, 3WR, 2TE, 5OL, 4CB, 2S, 1PT (18)
San Diego ST 1WR, 1TE, 1OG, 1DE, 1LB, 2S, 1PT, 1LS (9)
So. Miss 1QB, 1RB, 3WR, 1DT, 2CB (8)
Temple 2WR, 2TE, 3OL, 1DL, 3LB, 1CB, 1S, 1PK (14)
Toledo 1RB, 1FB, 1OT, 2DL, 2CB, 2S (9)
Tulane 1RB, 2WR, 2DL, 2LB, 3CB, 1S, 1PK, 1PT (13)
UTSA 1RB, 1WR, 2OL, 1DE, 2CB, 2S (9)
Wash St 1QB, 1FB, 1WR, 3OT, 2DL, 2LB, 3CB, 2S (15)
Western Kentucky 2QB, 1WR, 1TE, 2OL, 1DT, 1OLB, 1CB, 2S (11)
Western Michigan 2WR, 5OL, 1DE, 2LB, 2CB (10)
Wyoming 1QB, 1TE, 1OT, 3LB, 2S (8)

I will probably expand on this and incorporate starters vs backups vs practice squad