NFL Players May Say Their High School During Their Intros for Any Number of Reasons

The Gist:

• NFL players sometimes say their high school during their intros for a number of reasons, including as a joke and because they're not proud of where they went to college.
• Players in the NFL have to have attended college for at least three years to be eligible for the draft, so they can't be drafted right out of high school.

Every football game doesn't come with intros for every starting player on the offense and defense. On Sunday Night Football, though, players are tasked with introducing their name, and typically they also include what college they went to.

Over the years, we've seen a number of players clown on these intros in a wide array of ways by giving their elementary school or doing something else foolish. Sometimes, though, players also give their high school, which has led many to wonder why those players choose to introduce themselves with their high school instead of their college.

A player might choose to use their high school during their introduction for any number of reasons, and one of the most common reasons is they think it's funny. Sometimes, though, people decide to use their high school instead of their college because, for whatever reason, they aren't proud of where they went to college. It's possible that they feel they were mistreated in college, or just don't want to invoke their past there for whatever reason.

Sometimes, players just want to shine a light on their high school. Everyone knows about LSU, but they might not know about whatever small high school these players are coming from, and players know that highlighting their schools on national TV can mean a lot to the people who work there, some of whom may even remember that player from when he was a student.

There are also some rare instances when a player did not attend college, or attended several schools and is unsure which one they might want to discuss. As a result, they mention their high school instead, just to keep things simple.

Whatever their reasons, though, it's clear that those filming the player introductions give the players free rein to say what they want. While most choose to just state their names and schools, some decide to take a different, more creative path.

Unlike in several other sports, players in the NFL cannot be drafted straight out of high school. The NFL has a rule known as the three-year rule, which means that players must play in college for at least three years before they can be drafted. As a result, the youngest players in the NFL are typically just 20 or 21 years old, instead of 18.

After their junior years, players can decide whether they want to enter the draft or not, and that decision often depends on whether they feel like they'll be drafted into a good situation.