Good luck in the next chapter of your football life, Teddy Bridgewater. The former New Orleans Saints quarterback’s high school coaching career comes with high expectations: Miami Northwestern has sent some impressive players to the NFL, and they’ve been a fixture in the South Florida playoff picture.
Bridgewater was hired after his Miami Northwestern alma mater went 4-6 in 2023, their first season with a losing record since 2014’s 5-6 finish. The school had won 10 or more games in five of the seven seasons in-between, and Bridgewater will be expected to return to those standards.
He’ll be responsible for making a positive influence on the next generation — including college recruits like 2024 cornerback Guylijah Theodule (a former Vanderbilt commit who has drawn offers from Florida, Miami, James Madison, and Marshall) and quarterback Adrian Posse (who signed his letter of intent with UAB), as well as 2026 four-star wide receiver Calvin Russell (who has already drawn attention from Florida State, Appalachian State, Marshall, Texas A&M, and USF).
They’re the next in line to join the future pros who walked the same hallways, studied in the same classrooms, and starred on the same football field as Bridgewater himself. Here’s a quick look at some of the NFL talent to come out of Miami Northwestern:
Teddy Bridgewater
Let’s start with Bridgewater — the former Minnesota Vikings first-round pick initially committed to Miami so he could stay close to home, but switched to Louisville after the Hurricanes fired head coach Randy Shannon. He spent nine years in the NFL with six different teams, earning a trip to the Pro Bowl in 2015 and finishing his career with a 33-32 record as a starter, throwing 75 touchdown passes against 47 interceptions with 15,120 career passing yards.
Amari Cooper
Cooper was teammates with Bridgewater in high school, where he quickly rose in the recruiting rankings and committed to Alabama after being pursued by some of the nation’s top programs. He was picked fourth overall in the 2015 NFL draft by the Raiders, who traded him to the Dallas Cowboys just before the 2018 midseason trade deadline. He was traded again in 2022, going to the Cleveland Browns, and he currently has the 64th-most receiving yards in NFL history (9,486), ninth-most among active players. His 667 career receptions are 70th-most in the history of the league. He’s been selected for five Pro Bowls.
Lavonte David
David has been underrated throughout his career but he’s just once been selected for recognition at the Pro Bowl and on the All-Pro first team. But his efforts shouldn’t go unnoticed. He was not highly recruited coming out of Miami Northwestern and was rated as just a two-star prospect, starting his college career at Fort Scott Community College (where he was briefly teammates with Jason Pierre-Paul) before transferring to Nebraska. He played well enough to be picked in the second round by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2012, and he’s been a thorn in the Saints’ side ever since: David’s 1,035 career solo tackles are the 11th-most in NFL history. He’s also bagged 33.5 sacks, 18 fumble recoveries (forcing 28 of them) and intercepted a dozen passes, twice returning them for touchdowns.
Calijah Kancey
The Buccaneers’ first-round pick in 2023, Kancey committed to Pittsburgh coming out of Miami Northwestern and ended his college career as a unanimous All-American. He won recognition as November’s Defensive Rookie of the Month and played a big part in the Bucs’ upset of the Philadelphia Eagles in the wild-card round; Kancey was credited with 4 tackles (3 solo), half a sack, a quarterback hit, and a tackle for loss in knocking out the reigning conference champs. Unfortunately for the Saints, he has a bright career ahead of them.
Tutu Atwell
Atwell followed in Bridgewater’s footsteps to play quarterback at Louisville, having won recognition as the Miami-Dade County Player of the Year as a senior. But he was convinced to switch to wide receiver in college, and it paid off: he broke school receiving records and was picked in the second round of the 2021 draft by the Los Angeles Rams, who won Super Bowl LVI in his rookie year.
Artie Burns
Burns was also teammates with Bridgewater and Cooper at Miami Northwestern, where he was rated a four-star recruit and committed to play for his hometown Hurricanes. He capped his college career with six interceptions and was picked in the first round of the 2016 draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he’s played 58 of his 86 career games. Burns has also spent time with the Chicago Bears and Seattle Seahawks.
Other pros of note
- WR Eli Rogers (Pittsburgh): 2016-2018
- CB Deandre Baker (New York Giants, Kansas City): 2019-2021
- LB Sean Spence (Pittsburgh, Tennessee, Indianapolis): 2014-2017
- WR Kenbrell Thompkins (New England, Oakland, New York Jets): 2013-2015
- OL Vernon Carey (Miami Dolphins): 2004-2011
- WR Antonio Bryant (Dallas, Cleveland, San Francisco, Tampa Bay): 2002-2009
- LB Nate Webster (Tampa Bay, Cincinnati, Denver): 2000-2008
- LB Marvin Jones (New York Jets): 1993-2003
- WR Brett Perriman (New Orleans, Detroit, Miami, Kansas City): 1988-1997
- WR Derrell Mitchell (New Orleans Saints): 1994
You can find the full list of Miami Northwestern football players who competed in the NFL at Pro Football Reference.
