Jaydn Ewing, a freshman defensive end for Boise State, hails from Watford City, North Dakota, a tiny town in western North Dakota that was tinier before the oil boom tripled its population in recent years. Unsurprisingly, the 6-foot-3, 272-pounder is the only active FBS player from Watford City, which is nearly 600 miles from the nearest FBS program (Wyoming).
FBS Rankings: No. 1 to No. 130
Ewing is also the only active FBS player from the entire state of North Dakota, which, alongside Maine and Vermont (the only state without a single player), has fewer active FBS players than nine different foreign countries.
More than 40 percent of all FBS players hail from four states: Texas, Florida, California, and Georgia. Each of those four states has at least 1,100 players on 2019 rosters, led by Texas, whose 1,952 players account for a staggering 13 percent of all players. Texas is also one of only three west-of-the-Mississippi states with at least 250 players.
Top 10 states:
Players hail from 3,966 different cities, more than half of which have only one player. More than 1,900 cities have at least two players, led by Houston (208), which is one of four cities with at least 100 players but the only city with at least 200 players. Jacksonville (third, 114 players) is the most-represented city among those without an FBS program. Of the top 25 cities, only four don't have an FBS program: Jacksonville, Fort Lauderdale, Indianapolis, and Chicago.
Top 25 cities:
Canada is the most-represented foreign country with 69 players, 10 of which come from Montreal, the most-represented foreign city.
Australia (50) and Germany (15) are the only other countries with at least 10, although six other countries have multiple players, including Denmark, whose two players both play in Michigan: Eastern Michigan's Steven Nielsen and Central Michigan's Albert Jespersen.
Want more data on FBS rosters? Ping me on Twitter.