Many Football Recruits competing for Basketball District Championships on Friday (Story)

If football players are to blame for sports specialization how do you explain why so many football players also excelled in 3-4 months of the MHSAA high school basketball season?

Right after the football state championships ended, a week later the bball season started and Michigan's abundant talent was on display.

We'll highlight some of the top basketball players who are football recruits below:

*All references of an offer, commit, signee, or ranking are for football unless noted*

If we missed someone, let us know!

Division 1 (Class A):

Chippewa Valley vs. Sterling Heights Stevenson at Henry Ford II should be one of the more intriguing games around on Friday and the talent is through the roof. Stevenson has 6'6 285 lbs OT recruit Giovanni El-Hadi who is ranked as the #6 2021 prospect by The D Zone. The Big Reds won the the D1 title in 2018 and are led by the senior leadership of North Dakota signee Tommy Schuster. 2020 RB/QB Myren Harris is ranked as the #102 recruit in the 2020 class by The D Zone and is another who played a key role in the football and basketball teams having a huge year.

Grosse Pointe South 2022 CB Will Johnson has erupted in the recruiting process for football with offers from Michigan State, Penn State, Michigan, etc. The Freshman started on varsity in both football and basketball this year. The whole city of Grosse Pointe will get another look at him as GPS faces GPN for the district title.

Mount Pleasant has some dual-sport athletes, but none bigger than the #30 ranked 2020 prospect, Tyler Huenemann. The DE is finally experiencing an overdue rise in his recruiting process as the 6'3 245 DE now holds 7 offers.

Muskegon is one of the favorites to win it in the newly formed Division 1 playoffs (same format as Class A but different name). Muskegon has an outstanding Guard in 2020 ATH Cameron Martinez who is a standout QB that broke tons of school records in football and holds 21 offers. The 5'11 190 lbs Martinez is a player who colleges will attempt to utilize his unreal athletic traits and playmaking abilities and transition him into a; Receiver, Defensiveback, or Runningback. Martinez is currently ranked as the #16 football recruit in the state.

2020 TE/DE Billie Roberts is a ferocious player with a high-motor and at 6'5 250 once he gets his hands on opponents, they're moving backwards. Coupled with his footwork improvements and overall athletic abilities, Roberts has drawn 11 offers and should continue to see more. He's currently ranked as the #18 recruit in the state.

Muskegon will face Reeths-Puffer for the District Title who also has a nice recruit in The D Zone's #89 ranked player in 2020, Gary Humphrey. The 6'2 Safety is a nice prospect with good length, ball-hawk traits, and can hit.

Orchard Lake Saint Mary's 2020 WR Anthony Enechukwu has been on varsity basketball since his Freshman year but is often overshadowed by two D1 basketball recruits. Enechukwu, a 6'2 195 lbs prospect who holds 10 offers now. They'll play Bloomfield Hills on Friday.

Lansing Everett dropped 2 games vs. their division rivals, Okemos during the regular season but led by Guard, Shamar Howard who is ranked as the #114 recruit in the 2020 class and is one of the more intriguing CB prospects in the class. Everett will look pull off the playoff victory.

Ann Arbor Skyline 2019 ATH Davion Pipkins is headed to Siena Heights but will first look to help Skyline make another long playoff run. Last year they lost in the final seconds to Novi during the quarterfinals.

Skyline's senior, DeSean Munson appears to be headed to college for basketball, but we're shocked he never got looks as a TE, has that Antonio Gates type size/athleticism.

Mattawan is currently 20-0 and led by 6'5 250 lbs, Jaden Mabin who is headed to Grand Valley State next year and will play in the MHSFCA / The D Zone East vs. West All-Star game in June of this year.

East Kentwood senior Ryel Daye was a player we are shocked never got more football interest, he's walking on at Central Michigan, but The D Zone ranked him as the #122 recruit in the 2019 class, so we feel he should make a lot of noise once he gets on campus and camp starts.

Grand Blanc has several dual-sport athletes, but none currently bigger than senior DB Kortez Toles who is signed with Grand Valley State and is ranked as the #84 recruit in the state by The D Zone.

Dakota had an impressive football season this year, their two key seniors QB Mark Tocco and LB Jeremiah Major both play basketball and are headed to Albion for football in the Fall.

Marquette's Ethan Martysz will head to Michigan Tech for football in the Fall, but the WR will first look to help the Redmen defeat Gaylord for the District Championship.

Division 2 (Class B):

Tyson Davis is The D Zone's #14 ranked 2021 prospect and is a sight to see on the court too. The 5'9 155 lbs Davis is a big play waiting to happen in football and will finish as one of the best players ever out of Goodrich if he remains focused on improving. Davis is drawing looks at CB, Slot, and Kick/Punt Return.

Bridgeport basically has the whole team playing both sports, as Kevin Marshall is the head coach of the football and basketball teams. The Bearcats are led by seniors Sirquarius Ball (Grand Valley State) and Markele Garrett (Saginaw Valley State). 2020 DE/OLB Bobby Martin will draw some looks in football in the upcoming months.

Michigan offensive lineman signee, Karsen Barnhart will look to lead Paw Paw over fellow Wolverine B Conference rivals Three Rivers for the District Title.

Cranbrook has two seniors who are key members of their team, Danny Files - Valparaiso (D1-FCS) signee and Torrell Williams (Uncommitted, but holds D1-FCS preferred walk-on)

Division 3 (Class C):

Flint Beecher has opted to play up in the higher enrolled Division 3 as they're in Division 8 for football. The Bucs are one of the favorites to win the title this year. They're led by two of the best players in the state in Jalen Terry and Earnest Sanders who are both 2020's. Sanders is the #6 ranked football recruit by The D Zone and is a big play waiting to happen in both sports. Sanders scored 25 touchdowns as a junior in 2018 and will return in 2019 to help lead Beecher as they should be a favorite to win the D8 title.

2020 QB Avery Moore helped New Lothrop to their Division 7 State Championship in 2018, the QB immediately went into basketball season and will look to lead NL to a win over Ithaca. One of Ithaca's players is 2020 QB/WR/DB Peyton Smith who should be playing somewhere in college as well next year.

Avery Moore is ranked by The D Zone as the #66 2020 recruit in the state and #6 QB in the class and the highest ranked unoffered QB.

Maple City Glen Lake reached the Division 3 title game last year, where they fell to DEPSA. The Lakers are 20-2 this year and a key player for them is 6'3 220 TE/WR recruit, Drew Peterson who is signed with Grand Valley State for football.