Storm Warning: Jump on in, the water’s fine @minguabeefjerky, @bigassfans, @ChiefSmoke10, @_CoachManning, @SylasGunn, @carlos_mason52, @HopkinsCentral, @DavonyaeButche1

Are there some athletes who can be added to the football roster? We think so!

Any coach of any small high school football roster would tell you a team under 4A can ill-afford to miss out on prime athletic talent playing a sport to the exclusion of the others. We checked in on how the basketball team was doing thus far (because we are huge fans of Sylas Gunn) and spied several “other” prime-timers who would likely help Coach Manning’s team should they be so disposed. We can think of some reasons why they should be.

HB Lyon, Scouting Director, KPGFootball

Permit us an anecdote. We are, after all, in the anecdote business.

There was a player once who displayed amazing athleticism on several different sports teams at his alma mater, Bethel High School. Let’s call him “Allen.”

Allen started at QB for the football team. Allen also played running back, returned kicks, played defensive back and started at point guard on his high school basketball team.

Allen was a “big time” college prospect in both football and basketball. Matter of fact, Allen was ranked ahead of NFL Hall of Famer, Peyton Manning, at QB in the 1994 national signing class, led his football team to a state title as a junior, and was the Associated Press Player of the Year in the commonwealth of Virginia, setting a record with seven (7) interactions in a single game.

Allen chose to play basketball in college and professionally. He was right fair at it.

Allen won NBA Rookie of the Year Award in 1997 and was an 11-time NBA All-Star, won the All-Star Game MVP Award in 2001 and 2005, and was the NBA’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 2001. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016.

Our “Allen” is “Iverson;” but you may have already figured that out by now. Point is, athletes at the high school level should play any and every sport they wish and are able to play.

We believe, at KPGFootball, Sylas Gunn is among the very best and more versatile athletes playing football around the commonwealth at any level. We have selected him All-State on our Big Ass Fans Small School (1A, 2A, 3A) Football Team for a reason.

We looked in on Gunn’s basketball stats to see how he was doing. We weren’t surprised to see Gunn is among the team’s top scorers, top rebounders, and shooting 30% behind the three-point arc. Gunn’s wasn’t the only performance of which we took note.

There are fine, and explosive, athletes on the basketball roster who should really consider going out for football this coming Fall. There are players on the basketball roster who would add some explosion, speed, and athleticism to the team’s (and school’s) football efforts.

There was a funny story Jerry Clower used to tell about coaxing his wife into the tide pool at a vacation resort. He called to her, “Come on in, dear; the water’s fine.”

That is what we are telling some of you. “Come on in, the water’s fine.” Undertaking both sports didn’t detrimentally impact Allen Iverson. He would tell you it helped him.

Then again, what do we know? Just saying…

This is Friday Night Fletch, reporting for KPGFootball, reminding you to PLAY THROUGH THE WHISTLE!

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