Between the exhilaration of a slam dunk and the thrill of scoring a touchdown, Nixa two-sport star Kael Combs has a clear favorite. “Definitely dunking,” said Combs.
Or maybe two favorites. “But nothing beats the adrenaline rush of football,” said Combs.
He’s uniquely qualified to answer the question. The All-State Eagles basketball star also finished in the top-five in our area in yards and touchdowns as a wide receiver. Not bad for a junior playing football for the first time since sixth grade. Combs remembers how physical education teacher and head coach John Perry convinced him to give it a shot.
“One day I came in to class and he had a little contract where he said, ‘You won’t run any slants or anything over the middle where you get hit or hurt,'” said Combs. “So I took the contract and looked at it for a couple days, then gave it back to him and signed it.”
With 44 receptions and 11 touchdowns, one of every four catches Combs made were for scores. Now you’ll find the senior at Nixa’s basketball practice at 10am after an 8am football practice. And he hasn’t even started the AAU circuit yet. “They give us the month of June off,” said Combs.
This offseason he’ll juggle responsibilities for both sports while tying to figure out which one he’ll play in college. “I’m honestly split between the two right now,” he said.
Several Division One schools, including Missouri State, are asking Combs the same question: How about both? “One of the football coaches came up to the school during the year and he talked to me about, if I wanted to do both,” said Combs. “I was like, of course, I would. And he said, ‘You’d always have that opportunity with us.’ So that was pretty cool to hear. A couple of schools have said that.”
Whatever he decides, Combs says he looks to his older brother Braeden, who currently plays pro basketball internationally, for advice. But coach Perry has left him with a particular pigskin point to ponder. “Coach Perry always tells me there’s less guys to put on the floor in basketball than there are in football,” said Combs. “Plus, he says there aren’t very many receivers at 6′ 4″ playing in the NFL. So that’s also something I think about.”
