During the practice scene, the Boatwright University football team appears to only have 6 players.
Tom describes his home town of Aliquippa, Pennsylvania as a coal town. While there were many coal mines in western Pennsylvania, there were none in Aliquippa, which was instead known as a steel mill town.
At dinner, Tom Povich says that he's from a small coal town near Pittsburgh when Grandpa blurts out "Aliquippa," which is about 25 miles outside Pittsburgh. Since Tom doesn't correct him, we can assume that Grandpa is correct. Later, during Tom's hearing, John-Boy says that Tom is from Bridgeton (John-Boy mispronounces it as "Bridgetown"), which is 330 miles to the east of Pittsburgh, on the other side of the state.