Would moving high school football to spring lead to exodus of Michigan players?

Corey Parker, head coach of Division 3 state champion River Rouge, is planning on his team playing high school football this fall.

But Parker, also the athletic director at River Rouge, doesn’t want the season to take place at the expense of the health of his school’s student-athletes. Parker said two his assistant coaches tested positive for COVID-19 but have recovered.

“The competitor in me and the one that sides with tradition hopes we’ll be playing this fall,” Parker told The Detroit News. “But then the dad and the athletic director … I hope we make the best decision for everybody to be safe and healthy. I’ve seen assistant coaches of mine and other friends that have fought the battle against COVID and have won it, thank God, but I also know of some people that have fought the battle and lost it.”

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, on the subject of high school sports as part of the Michigan Safe Start Plan, said last week, “I’m calling on the Michigan High School Athletic Association to consider postponing fall sports that have the impossibility of social distancing that’s a part of them, consider moving those to the spring and running some of the more individualized sports like track and field or tennis or golf to the fall.”

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The following day, MHSAA officials had a Zoom meeting with the state’s Football Coaches Association members, telling them they still hoped to have traditional fall sports, including football, played in the fall, and still planned on having three sports seasons, while also having contingency plans, which could swap some fall and spring sports.

Switching football to the spring could affect players and teams in three key areas:

►Star players already recruited and committed to colleges, who plan to enroll early, would miss their senior seasons.

►Players who need the exposure of their senior seasons in order to be recruited by college coaches would miss that opportunity. There are two college football signing periods – one in December and one in February – well before the start of spring sports. This would likely mean there would be more out-of-state players on college rosters and fewer players from Michigan.

►Conducting a football season in the spring and then beginning a fall camp shortly after could be too physically demanding on players, potentially leading to more injuries.

Michigan Football Coaches Association members had another Zoom call on Tuesday night with MHSAA executive director Mark Uyl.

“Mark Uyl was on the call and they talked about some big goals and No. 1 is to play all fall sports in the fall and the No. 2 goal is to play three full seasons,” Saline coach Joe Palka told The Detroit News.

“The MHSAA is in conversations daily with all the surrounding states – Ohio, Wisconsin, Indiana and Illinois. We don’t want to be the one state that does something different, so I think they are taking all of that into consideration.”

Palka also said the MHSAA is taking cues from policy decisions being made at the college level.

“Specifically what’s happening at the Michigan college level – the MAC, the GLIAC, the MIAA. … We just have to be flexible because it’s just a fluid situation.”

Still, Parker and other coaches are not without reservations about playing in the fall.

“We have to put things in perspective in reference to (the players’) health and safety – what they are taking home to their families,” said Parker, whose team is scheduled to play Division 2 state champion Muskegon Mona Shores in the Prep Kickoff Classic at Wayne State in the season opener on Aug. 29. “I want everybody to be healthy.”

Parker said he hasn’t been approached yet by any senior players or parents contemplating an out-of-state transfer for a chance at earning a scholarship.

“We haven’t had any conversations like that so far but I’m sure if it comes up there will be some parents that have seniors that need this season that may have to look at different options, and I would support those parents because this may be their one way to get college paid for,” Parker said.

“So I would support those parents if that’s what you’ve got to do and you can’t wait to see if there will be a spring season because that’s still up in the air. … Right now the MHSAA is saying they are expecting to have three seasons.”

Landon Morris, a senior tight end from Nazareth Academy in La Grange Park, Illinois, announced on Twitter he was transferring to Fishers (Indiana) High School, citing the “uncertainty of fall sports in Illinois as a factor in his decision.”

Michigan-bound quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who had been the state’s top ranked prospect in the Class of 2021, previously had announced he was leaving Nazareth to play at IMG Academy in Florida this fall for the same reason.

Palka has previously coached in Ohio. He was asked if he heard of any area players talking about transferring to Ohio or Indiana.

“I’m pretty connected in Ohio and I haven’t heard of any players from our area transferring to Ohio,” Palka said. “It’s not that easy; you have to find residence before playing. The only difference right now between us is that Ohio schools are allowed to go 7-on-7, and that’s only within their own teams."

Palka said that on the call Tuesday night, no coaches talked about their players transferring to schools outside the state.

“I did not hear of anybody saying that their kids right now are looking to go elsewhere, because that issue was brought up,” Palka said. “Guys are concerned, but at this point nobody said that a player said, ‘Hey, I’m leaving,’ and that’s positive.”