Success on the field - and the mat - Part One

As long as I am able to write for prepredzone.com, you can count on one of my offseason story series' is going to focus on football players who excel in more than one sport. I come from a small high school, and our programs would struggle if our best athletes didn't play two or three sports. Specialization has become more and more prevalent, so once a year, I will be putting the spotlight on athletes who are among the best on the gridiron as well as at least another sport.   The sport that coaches tell me over and over that translates the best to football is – not surprisingly – wrestling. Part one of a multi-part story focuses on the best senior football players you can still catch competing in high school sports this winter – not on the gridiron, but on the field.   Wrestling rankings are courtesy of <a href="https://theguillotine.com/" rel="sponsored nofollow">The Guillotine</a>.   [player_tooltip player_id='19002' first='Max' last='McEnelly'] Waconia 17 PRZ/1st at 195AAA   McEnelly might not have been the best football player I have seen this season – although he would be close – he is the best pure athlete I have seen on a high school football player in several years. His speed is excellent, but he is maybe the most physical running back in the state. He punishes tacklers on offense and ball carriers as a linebacker. In all due respect to the rest of the 195AAA field, the Minnesota Gophers' wrestling commit is as close to a sure thing to win a state title – which would be his fourth - as there is in the state.    [player_tooltip player_id='295817' first='Jadon' last='Hellerud'] Shakopee 82 PRZ/5th at 220AAA   Hellerud rushed for over 1300 yards and scored 12 touchdowns as a senior running back for the Sabers. He topped 100 rushing yards every game but one. On the mat – Hellerud is looking for his first individual title. He was wrestling on the last day of the previous two seasons of high school. He took 4th place as a sophomore and lost in the 195AAA finals last season.   [player_tooltip player_id='112127' first='Jacory' last='Bates'] Eden Prairie 91 PRZ/9th at 170AAA   Bates made his first appearance at the state tournament to end last season. He went 1-2 at the state tournament as a junior and will be favored to get back there this year. On the gridiron, Bates is a physical corner who will cover but really impresses with his run support and open-field tackling.   [player_tooltip player_id='295823' first='Caden' last='Omalley'] Tri-City United 94 PRZ/1st at 182AA   O'Malley is a between-the-tackles thumper at middle linebacker. You will feel it when he hits you – at linebacker or fullback. As physical as he is, he has good lateral movement and has another gear when running the ball in the open field. On the mat, he recently took second place in one of the biggest in-season tournaments in the state – the Rumble in the Red. His only loss – to the defending state champion.   [player_tooltip player_id='237319' first='Jackson' last='Cercioglu'] St. Thomas Academy 108 PRZ/5th at 195AAA   Similar to O'Malley, Cercioglu is a tackling machine at inside linebacker. His tackling technique is refreshing when I think about all the guys who go for the big hit and don't wrap up. He has more speed than most guys his size and routinely runs down plays from the backside and downfield. On the mat, he placed sixth in the Cheesehead wrestling tournament – a national mid-season wrestling event held in Wisconsin.   [player_tooltip player_id='237907' first='Jake' last='Borman'] St. Thomas Academy 122 PRZ/8th at 182AAA   Like his defensive teammate, Borman is a ball-hawking safety who is also a big hitter. Borman has excellent range and instincts patrolling the Cadets' secondary. A state entrant last season on the mat, the senior also competed at the Cheesehead, going 2-3 on the weekend. He has put up double-digit victories early in his senior season.   [player_tooltip player_id='19029' first='Gavin' last='Nelson'] Simley WL PRZ/1st at 220AA   Like McEnelly, Nelson committed to the Gophers' wrestling program. Also, like McEnelly, Nelson is a returning state champion. He will be going for his third straight title this season. He is already a three-time state finalist, falling in the state finals as a freshman. Another entrant in the Cheesehead, he took first place in that tournament and first place in one of Minnesota's biggest in-season tournaments – the Christmas Tournament. On the field, he helped lead his team to a state championship as a physical, between-the-tackles running back and – like many of the wrestlers in these stories – as a punishing sideline-to-sideline linebacker.

As long as I am able to write for prepredzone.com, you can count on one of my offseason story series' is going to focus on football players who excel in more than one sport. I come from a small high school, and our programs would struggle if our best athletes didn't play two or three sports. Specialization has become more and more prevalent, so once a year, I will be putting the spotlight on athletes who are among the best on the gridiron as well as at least another sport.