Success on the field and the hardwood

The multi-sport athlete has been become more and more rare in high school sports. This is the third story highlighting the best multi-sport football players in Minnesota’s Class of ’22. Oliver West kicked things off with a look at <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2021/07/minnesotas-top-duel-sport-athletes-track-field/">track and field</a> and I followed up with wrestling. This time, we look at the best football players who also excel - sometimes even more than in football - on the basketball court. [player_tooltip player_id="49822" first="Trejuan" last="Holloman"] <strong>Cretin Derham Hall DB/PG PRZ rank 2/Prephoops rank 1</strong> Ranked number one overall on prephoops.com, Holloman closes as quickly as anyone from the safety position. Against the run and pass, he is a sideline-to-sideline player with outstanding range. His range allows him to get to ball carriers and receivers, and once he is there, he is not afraid to lay the lumber to opponents. His length makes him tough to beat when he is matched up one on one. [player_tooltip player_id="18422" first="Eli" last="King"] <strong>Caledonia QB/PG PRZ rank 1/Prephoops rank 6</strong> King – who has committed to play basketball for Iowa State - is possibly the best football player in the state. King is expected to play quarterback after starting at receiver and defensive back for the multi-time state champion Caledonia football team. Check out my King breakdown in this recent <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2021/07/outstate-prospect-report-southeast/">outstate story on PRZ</a>. [player_tooltip player_id="116205" first="Alonzo" last="Dodd"] <strong>South St. Paul ATH/PG PRZ rank 37/Prephoops rank 14</strong> The first thing that stands out to me with Dodd is his body control. As a receiver, he adjusts to the ball well and gets in good position to make a play on the ball. He has outstanding feet, both in the open field and along the sidelines. As a defensive back, he breaks quickly on the ball and will stick you if you make a catch or come around the corner on him. [player_tooltip player_id="18443" first="Nick" last="Katona"] <strong>Shakopee WR/SF PRZ rank 196/Prephoops rank 18</strong> Katona has the speed to outrun defensive backs on deep routes and the speed to make defensive backs re-think the angles they take when trying to tackle him. He has the hands and body control to make contested catches down the field. Katona plays both wide and in the slot with equal success. [player_tooltip player_id="18423" first="Chase" last="Carter"] <strong>SMB DL/PF PRZ rank 5/Prephoops rank 21</strong> A long, athletic defensive end, Carter uses his wingspan for separation versus offensive lineman. Speed is the Michigan State commits biggest asset, but he is more physical than his lean body would suggest. That being said, his quickness off the ball allows Carter to beat the offensive lineman and give him the proper angle to get a step on the blocker. [player_tooltip player_id="49819" first="Teigan" last="Martin"] <strong>Mayer Lutheran TE/PF PRZ rank 28/Prephoops rank 24</strong> Martin didn’t catch a high volume of balls, but he made them count. He averaged nearly 30 yards per catch. Not surprisingly, he was used on many deep seam routes. At 6’7", Martin has a large catch radius and is a handful for any safety who has deep responsibility with Martin baring down on him. He is athletic enough to line up in the traditional tight end position but is also effective coming out of the slot. [player_tooltip player_id="18425" first="Mekhi" last="Collins"] <strong>Mankato West WR/SF PRZ rank 10/Prephoops rank 29</strong> With his number 10 ranking on the football site, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to see Collins highlighted in a second story this month. Check out my recent write-up on Collins during my <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2021/07/outstate-prospect-report-southeast/">outstate series</a>. [player_tooltip player_id="18438" first="Sam" last="Rensch"] <strong>Hutchinson DB/SF PRZ rank 27/Prephoops rank 31</strong> Rensch plays all over the field for the Tigers and might be one of the most complete offensive players in the state. He is an explosive running back whose long strides cover ground quickly, but not so much that he can’t make a defender look foolish in the open field. He catches out of the backfield and when lined up out wide, and he doesn’t always need both hands to do it. On defense, he is a downhill, attacking outside backer/defensive back. [player_tooltip player_id="18444" first="Thomas" last="Diew"] <strong>St. Cloud Tech DL/C PRZ rank 105/Prephoops rank 33</strong> I didn’t mean to keep repeating guys from previous stories, but good athletes are good athletes. Another two-sport star who makes another appearance on a best of article is Diew. The soon-to-be senior has had interest from many Midwest DI schools. Read my breakdown of his skills on the football field <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2021/07/outstate-prospect-report-southwest/">here</a>. [player_tooltip player_id="18427" first="Emmett" last="Johnson"] <strong>Holy Angels RB/PG PRZ rank 9/Prephoops rank 47</strong> Johnson is one of the best pure runners in the state. His ability to make people miss is possibly the best I have seen from a Minnesota runner in the 2022 graduating class. His combination of speed and cutback ability make him one of the most difficult runners to defend. His strong lower body allows him to run through tackles if the defender doesn’t get Johnson squared up – which is difficult because of his cutback ability. Not a surprise based on his skill-set, Johnson is a threat to take a kick back all the way whenever opponents kick to him.