USA Today
BREAKING: MHSAA Votes To Restart Football Season On Sept. 8
In a sudden turn of events, the Michigan High School Athletic Association's Representative Council voted to restart the fall football season on Tuesday, Sept. 8 earlier today.
This move comes as a bit of a surprise after Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer reaffirmed that she would not be bullied into making any decisions with haste. Previously, the MHSAA decided to postpone the fall football season back on Aug. 14 following concerns that it was a "high-risk" sport with a wealth of direct contact from player to player.
Next week, high school teams will be able to conduct padded practices as school prepare for either an eight-man and 11-man football schedule. According to Mike McCabe of the Detroit Free Press, teams can schedule games as early as Sept. 17 and 18, which works out to Week 4 of the season.
According to David Eggert of the AP, outdoor sports will be limited to 100 people total, which includes the participants. Eggert also reports that masks must be worn in all sports except for swimming.
This is from the MHSAA's release on the matter:
"This new Executive Order 176 has also removed the restrictions on all sports, including football. On August 14, the Representative Council postponed football because padded football practice and competition could not happen under Executive Order 160. While other factors such as collegiate football plans, general uncertainties and other unknowns were discussed, there was no other decision on August 14 for the Council given state law at that time. With this new order, information has emerged over the past three weeks bringing more clarity to football across the country."
At the moment, Michigan has four in-state commits for the 2021 class: Sterling Heights (Mich.) Adlai-Stevenson offensive tackle Giovanni El-Hadi, Detroit (Mich.) Cass Tech center Raheem Anderson, East Lansing (Mich.) High athlete Andrel Anthony and West Bloomfield (Mich.) St. Mary's kicker / punter Tommy Doman Jr.
Before this announcement, Doman and Anthony had already declared their intentions to enroll early at Michigan and both El-Hadi and Anderson were considering doing the same. That was when Michigan's football season would be bounced to the spring of 2021, so the situation was much different at the time.
Now that the football season truly is upon us, that group of Michigan commits expressed their sincere gratitude. Anderson said that he had prayed for this outcome, and Doman had a similarly excited reaction to the news.
"I couldn't be more grateful to God and Governor Whitmer for one last season playing the game I love with my brothers at Orchard Lake St. Mary's," Doman exclaimed.
Michigan is also in hot pursuit of a couple other in-state prospects that will now have an opportunity to show off their hard work from a long offseason. West Bloomfield (Mich.) High running back Donovan Edwards is likely U-M's top target left on the board at this point, and Brandon Brown spoke with him recently about his interest in Michigan, which is very high.
Oak Park (Mich.) High lineman Rayshaun Benny is another high profile player that Michigan really wants to pick up as a defensive tackle commit, though he plays on the offensive line as well. Both players will now have an opportunity to execute on the field for their senior seasons, and the Wolverines coaching staff will be closely following their progress as the rest of the 2021 class comes together.
What do you think of the MHSAA's decision to bring back football? Do you think the Wolverines can close on Edwards and Benny? Let us know!
